Some of us might think that if we just had more education, more social connections or financial opportunities, we could really be something. But often the quality that makes all the difference is nothing more than perseverance, or steadfastness, even in the face of opposition. We know it as “hanging in there” and “sticking with it.”
Examples abound. For instance, Thomas Edison is recognized as a brilliant inventor, but among his most valuable raw materials was his willpower. The story is told of how Edison conducted more than 10,000 experiments before inventing the incandescent lamp. Plodding along night and day over many years, he learned from his “failures.” It is said that he described the events prior to his breakthrough as 10,000 discoveries of how electricity did not work. He turned his failures into discoveries only because he was willing to keep trying.
Believing in our strengths and not being discouraged by our setbacks will keep us going over the long haul. Such tenacity and dedication have application everywhere in our lives: parents who don’t give up on a wayward child or on each other, teachers and leaders who nurture greatness in seemingly ordinary people, friends and family who believe that patience and kindness are always better than force and fury.
True, we might not revolutionize the world with remarkable inventions, but we can bless our posterity with an example of perseverance, an attitude of devotion to principle. We might not achieve prominence in the eyes of the world, but we can conquer the inner self by persevering in worthy causes.
Program #3965