On occasion we all enjoy encouragement. We all can use cheering on, accepting our circumstances and our accomplishments so far. We persist and enjoy the path that unfolds.

In this piece we can soak up some soothing and inspiration. Those who keep going often prevail. YAY!

Persistence and Confidence

Hannah and a lovely companion walked a mountain trail in lovely weather. H wanted to capture a good picture of this dear friend. The other almost brushing her away, “Never mind, I take awful pictures.”

Our heroine ignored those negative predictions. Hannah clicked away, taking many shots. Admittedly, this subject felt self-conscious and often her prediction came true: unflattering photos.  H felt determined and to herself,  “I will keep at it.”

Hooray! At walk’s end our star came away with two excellent photos and two good ones.  The persistence with positive attitude had paid off.

Inspiration from Noted Figures

I. Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison demonstrated the quintessential “stick to it” quality as he developed the light bulb. The story goes that this hero took 1000 experiments to create that device that sustains illumination. We can speculate on what he said to himself at experiment 750?

Picture him in his laboratory, having been at this endeavor already for a good chunk of time.  Some of us might say, “This blankety-blank thing will never work. I quit!”

We know Edison did not throw in the towel. We suspect Edison might have said, “If I adjust this widget a bit like this, it would improve this feature…”  He stayed excited and persisted. That man enjoyed his process, stayed fasinated with his project..

Time passed and Edison maintained his focus. One day one more adjustment and the bulb worked. He had a nervous system like you and me. He kept at it and he got pay off!

2.   John Lennon

In the first decade of the twenty-first century Elsa attended an exhibit of John Lennon’s illustrations. The pieces were in white mats, some framed.

One mat stated, “My aunt always told me, ‘The guitar is very well, John, but you will never make a living at it.’ “

Isn’t it fun to picture the day John heard his mother’s sister speak that and simply chose to ignore her! He just kept doing what he loved. Imagine!

3.  Examples of persistence: excerpts from the “Consider This” page Chicken Soup for the  Soul by Jack Canfield

– “Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly. Rather than a focus on improving his technique, B enjoyed creating his own compositions. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer.”[1]

– “The parents of the famous opera singer Enrico Caruso wanted him to be an engineer. His teacher said he had no voice at all and could not sing.”[2]

– “Henry Ford went broke five times before he finally succeeded.”[3]

–  ” The sculptor Rodin’s father said, ‘I have an idiot for a son.’  Described as the worse pupil in the school, Rodin failed three times to secure admittance to the school of art. His uncle called him ineducable.”[4]

4 Take away for Readers

Allow these stories and ones like these inspire you.

Notice what words and actions promote a relaxed and upbeat feeling. Repeat those often..

Enjoy the journey, moment by moment. Daydream. Keep going.

Do you have tales of persistence? Please comment. Together we light up this wonderful world.

[1] Canfield, Jack, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Health Communications, Inc, 1993 p. 228.

[2]Ibid, p.229.

[3] Ibid, p.229.

[4] Ibid, p.229.