“You finish what you start. The industrious person takes on difficult projects and finishes them, ‘getting it out the door, with good cheer and minimal complaints. You do what you say you will do and sometimes more, never less.” (Source: VIA Institue)

Perseverance involves the voluntary continuation of a goal-directed action despite the presence of challenges, difficulties, and discouragement. There are two vectors of perseverance. It requires both effort for a task and duration to keep the task up. Learn more at Via Institute on Character

The Noel Strengths Academy defines it this way:

• Persistent people are “finishers”
• They push through obstacles
• They are resilient and hopeful
• To be persistent is to persevere and to be industriousness

• Underuse: Fragility
• Overuse: Obsessiveness

Key Research:

• Rank order of Perseverance in populations from:
  • US : 17;
  • European: 20
  • Asia: 16
  • Latin America: 15
  • Sub-Saharan Africa: 19
  • Middle east: 16
• Top 10 (rank order) strengths expressed at work: honesty, judgment, perspective, fairness, perseverance, love of learning, leadership, zest, curiosity, social intelligence.
• In a workplace study involving 686 participants, the character strength of perseverance was the strength most associated with work productivity and least associated with counter-productive work behaviors. This was best explained by the workers’ sense of meaning at work and perceptions of work-as-a-career and as-a-calling (Littman-Ovadia & Lavy, 2016).
• Character strengths of the mind (e.g., self-regulation, perseverance, love of learning) were predictive of school success (Weber & Ruch, 2012b).
• Several character strengths (e.g., gratitude, curiosity, perseverance, meaning) were examined from an international community sample of 755 individuals to examine their predictive value in goal attainment and changes in well-being. Curiosity and perseverance predicted the strongest increase in goal attainment over time, but it was only curiosity that boosted the effects of goal attainment on life satisfaction two times across a 6-month period (Sheldon et al., 2015).
• The character strengths most associated with the engagement route to happiness are zest, curiosity, hope, perseverance, and perspective (Peterson et al., 2007).
• The character strengths – perseverance, love, gratitude, and hope – predict academic achievement in middle school students and college students (reported in Park & Peterson, 2009a).

– “Persistence” is the voluntary continuation of a goal-directed action in spite of obstacles, difficulties, or discouragement. Simply measuring how long someone works at a task does not adequately capture the essence of persistence, because continuing to perform something that is fun or rewarding does not require one to endure and overcome setbacks. In this character strength we can use the terms perseverance, industriousness and persistence interchangeably.

Ghandi had some thoughts:

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

What Mark Twain has to add:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Psychological Impacts of Perseverance

1. Perseverance is a key predictor of success: Research has shown that individuals with high levels of Perseverance tend to experience greater success in their personal and professional lives (Peterson & Seligman, 2004).
2. Perseverance is linked to grit: Perseverance is associated with grit, which is the ability to sustain interest and effort over time, even in the face of obstacles and setbacks (Duckworth et al., 2007).
3. Perseverance is a key component of resilience: Perseverance is a key component of resilience, which is the ability to bounce back from adversity and maintain a positive outlook (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004).
4. Perseverance is associated with a growth mindset: Individuals with high levels of Perseverance tend to have a growth mindset, which is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort and learning (Dweck, 2006).
5. Perseverance is linked to self-discipline: Perseverance is associated with self-discipline, which is the ability to regulate one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in order to achieve long-term goals (Baumeister & Vohs, 2007).
6. Perseverance is a key strength for individuals in challenging situations: Perseverance is essential for individuals in challenging situations, such as those experiencing poverty, illness, or trauma (Seligman et al., 2005).
7. Perseverance is associated with a sense of purpose: Perseverance is associated with a sense of purpose, which is the feeling that one’s efforts and activities are meaningful and contribute to a larger goal (Seligman et al., 2005).
8. Perseverance is linked to self-efficacy: Perseverance is associated with self-efficacy, which is the belief in one’s ability to succeed and achieve goals (Bandura, 1997).
9. Perseverance is a key strength for individuals who value hard work: Perseverance is essential for individuals who value hard work and are willing to put in the effort required to achieve their goals (Kashdan & Ciarrochi, 2013).
10. Perseverance can be developed and strengthened: Research has shown that Perseverance can be developed and strengthened through practice, such as setting and achieving goals, developing a growth mindset, and cultivating self-discipline (Seligman et al., 2005).

Tayyab Rashid and Afroze Anjum offer 340 Ways to Use VIA Character Strengths including these four for Persistence/Perseverance:

• Grit by Angela Duckworth
• The Grit Guide for Teens: A Workbook to Help You Build Perseverance, Self-Control, and a Growth Mindset

• Grit for Kids: 16 top steps for developing Grit, Passion, Willpower, and Perseverance in kids for self-confidence and a successful life by Lee David Daniels

• Perseverance: The Seven Skills You Need to Survive, Thrive, and Accomplish More Than You Ever Imagined by Tim Hague

3 Articles on How I Develop Grit

• How to Fall in Love With Boredom and Unlock Your Mental Toughness
• What I Do When it Feels Like My Work Isn’t Good Enough
• What I Do When I Feel Like Giving Up