Perseverance, Determination and Steadfastness: Virtue Powerhouses

By Daria Campbell

Like the word “virtue” is hardly used in common language these days you also hardly ever hear anyone use the word steadfast. But it is a great virtue. If you must think about a character who was famous for being steadfast you could think of the tortoise in the Aesop Fable The Tortoise and The Hare.

How many times in your life have you been in a situation where there is a person or persons who seem to be lapping you and running ahead of you in this life? You might look around and say to yourself, “why is everyone succeeding, and I seem to be stuck in the slow lane, behind a bus, that stops at almost every corner to let someone off?”.

This was how it was in that famous fable. The rabbit shot off leaving the slow and methodical tortoise behind but then he got cocky and took a nap and the tortoise won in the end. People who get success easily rarely appreciate it as much as someone who works hard for it. So, if you feel you are a tortoise today, lift your head up and throw back your shoulders. You are almost there. And remember you are committed to yourself so that no matter how long it takes you will get there.

And that brings us to determination and perseverance which is how you stay steadfast.  When you focus all your efforts and dig in no matter what, then you are exhibiting these two virtues. How easy is it to throw in the towel? To give up and write it off as a bad idea?  Sure, you can do that but what happens when your next challenge comes? It gets easier and easier to give up.

It is easy to say “oh well it is a quiet time of year, so I won’t bother to give it my all. It won’t make a difference anyway.” But that is where you are wrong. You need to be a stubborn as a mule and do whatever you need to do to keep moving towards your goals. For everyone this is different, but it is what we must do. Keep getting up each morning and say “this is the day it will all turn around and all the hard work will pay off.” If you keep saying it even if it doesn’t happen that day, trust me one day it will come to be so.

Don’t let life slow you down no matter what the circumstances. Pull out these virtues for yourself. Dust them off and get them moving in your life. Make them a purposeful skill to learn if you are weak at it. Get around people you know have these virtues and see what they do to keep on keeping on.

Then when the next slow period or lull comes you will be ready!