Acquiring persistence isn’t something that comes easily, but is something you need to be proactive about. You have to make choices. Don’t look at it as something like a life of drudgery or joylessness, but as the path to finding liberating joy, health and happiness. It actually stifles your slavery to your own self-interest and the negative influence of other people around you. You get to control your outcomes and put your excuses to death.
Start by acknowledging your weaknesses.
- Don’t pretend they don’t exist or minimize their negative impact on your life.
- Write down your weakness.
- Establish a clear plan, action steps or a strategy. This will help you eliminate your bad habits.
- Remove temptations.
- Find an accountability partner to text or call when tempted to help you through moments of weakness.
Fill your mind with something besides eating.
- Get involved in a hobby, work puzzles, or engage in anything that will interrupt your present pattern you have developed.
- Interrupt old patterns by creating new patterns to establish new habits.
- Have a strategy ahead of time so that you know what to do when temptation hits.
- Take action, even in small increments… especially in small increments. It’s the little changes that make it doable and add up with time.
Be persistent in tolerating emotional discomfort
- It’s normal to want to avoid pain or discomfort.
- Trying to eliminate all discomfort reinforces you can’t handle distress.
- Allow yourself to practice experiencing uncomfortable emotions like boredom, frustration or loneliness in order to increase your tolerance to the negative emotion.
- Remember that you are training your body rather than allowing your body and emotions to dictate how it’s going to be.
Focus on your long-term gain
- Giving in may make you feel happy in the moment, but long-term happiness and contentment, requires you to say no to immediate gratification.
- Long-term goals are accomplished by practicing self-discipline on a daily basis.
Acquire the skill of self-management
- This is personal, maybe even convicting.
- It hits us in hard places and makes us feel vulnerable.
- The responsibility gets put back onto us, not our circumstances. This principle is ultimately in our favor. It gives us back the power to make things happen, not to become a victim of your circumstances.
- Postpone temporary gratification in order to receive lasting rewards and gain greater self-respect.
In conclusion, acquiring persistence demands being proactive
Persistence postpones temporary gratification in order to receive lasting rewards and gain greater self-respect. It extends to every part of your life. It frees you up for greater things. However, it isn’t a gift we receive passively. It’s active, and we need to exercise it.