Persistence, self-esteem and results!

If you ask virtually any working artist how they developed a creative career, they’ll mention a dedication to their craft and fierce and persistence. And any service provider. And any marketer too.

Despite obstacles, criticism, and setbacks, they keep producing. But where does the motivation to be persistent come from?

Since it’s Christmas in the U.S. next week, I’ve been thinking about how the drive to be persistent can arise from having gratitude for exactly where you are on your journey.

Rather than wishing you were further along, which is just a distraction, you appreciate the current incarnation of your career. That appreciation stirs up creative momentum. Sometimes, though, when you have big goals in mind, it’s really difficult to stay focused on the present.

Persistence and Self-Esteem

In general people with higher self-esteem are more likely to persist on a difficult task than people with lower self-esteem. This seems intuitive. If you believe you are a competent person with a good chance of succeeding at most things, you are less likely to quit.

What seems less intuitive is the following finding: People tend to persist longer at solving problems when they are told that what they are doing is difficult as opposed to easy. Why? Failing at a task that everyone else finds easy can be humiliating and damaging to self-esteem. In contrast, there is minimal shame when one fails a widely acknowledged difficult task.

A pernicious phenomenon called self-handicapping is a particular instance of failing to persist. Most often the term is used in the context of a failure to be persistent at practice or in preparation for a major task. Again, self-esteem comes into play. If one fails to persist in studying before a major exam, then failure can be explained (and self-esteem preserved) by blaming the failure on lack of practice rather than low ability.

Persistence and Rewards

When individuals have been rewarded in the past for effort (sticking with a task), they are more likely to persist on a future task-even if that future task is not directly related to the first.

Remember this if you are an employer or a parent! But also remember that some rewards are better than others.

Certain extrinsic rewards undermine persistence. People who perform tasks for money, prizes, or awards tend to lose interest in performing a task for its own sake. And they also tend to have short attention spans. If the reward becomes unavailable, then persistence drops off sharply. In contrast, persistence is encouraged when a reward conveys positive feedback about competence and increases the intrinsic motivation for doing the task.

Developing Persistence

The following exercises for building persistence were adapted from a list provided by psychologist Jonathan Haidt at the University of Virginia:

• Finish a project ahead of time.
• Notice your thoughts about stopping a task and make a conscious effort to dismiss them. Focus on the task at hand.
• Begin using a time management aid of some sort (calendars work). Find a system that works and actually use it.
• Set a goal and create a plan for sticking to it.
• When you wake up in the morning, make a list of things that you want to get done that day that could be put off until the next day. Make sure to get them done that day.

Long ago, in a galaxy not too far away, I wrote my first speech for a client. The subject? You guessed it. Persistence. Other than knowing how to ask questions, I simply did not know how to get those first words on the page. But I did know I was confident that I could. So, I did. One paragraph at a time. And then three drafts later, I had created a client-approved commencement address that received a standing ovation and thunderous applause. Now, get started.

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