Do you know how to stay persistent with your goals? What are ways to take action on things you really want to achieve?
You’ll inevitably run into challenges on your way toward success. Optimizing your energy can help you persist through hardships and adapt to meet your struggles.
Continue reading to see how you should take action and be persistent on your journey.
Persistence and Action
Learning how to stay persistent doesn’t just help you reach your goals, but it also transforms your identity and self-perception. When you’re able to overcome your fears and persist beyond what you thought were your limits, you’re not only building momentum—you’re also learning your true motivations for pursuing your ultimate goals. The struggles you face as you do the daily work to move closer to your dream help to clarify why your ambitions are worth the effort.
What’s important is that you take action toward your goals instead of waiting for the perfect time to begin. Simon Alexander Ong insists that even small, consistent steps lead to progress over time. Don’t fall for the common misconception that you have to be an expert before putting your energy into your dream, whether that’s writing a novel, starting a business, or bucking for a promotion. What we rarely realize is that everyone else is learning as they go as much as we are.
| Action First, Motivation Second Persistence, motivation, and getting started toward your goals may be even more interconnected than Ong suggests, and in a different way than most of us realize. In The Motivation Myth, Jeff Haden presents the perspective that counter to what most of us believe, motivation comes after we take action, not before. According to Haden, motivation is the momentum that keeps you moving forward through a repeating, self-energizing cycle. That energy comes as a physiological response in your brain’s reward center that sets up a positive feedback loop with every small victory you make.Haden agrees with Ong that you shouldn’t wait for the “perfect moment” to start working toward your aspirations, but he does insist that you prepare before taking your initial leap. To succeed, you must first design a program that will help you build the momentum you’ll need to accomplish your objectives. Preparation will give you the energy boost to cross your first hurdles, after which, the small, consistent steps Ong recommends will fuel your motivation to keep going. Once you get over that initial hump, it’s much easier to keep moving forward. |
When trying something new, you’re bound to be nervous, but Ong says you can use your fear to drive your progress, rather than letting it be a barrier. Maintain your positive-energy mindset, and you’ll be surprised what new chances the world will bring your way.
(Shortform note: In The 10X Rule, Grant Cardone agrees with Ong that fear can be a good motivator, though beyond presenting it as mere “nervous jitters,” Cardone says that fear can indicate that you’re on the right track and that you’re pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone. Embracing fear enables you to do new things and grow, but Cardone also says to be careful—the longer you let fear build up, the stronger it becomes. Instead of letting that happen, Cardone recommends immediately doing the thing you’re apprehensive about, because the only thing that will banish fear is action.)
