How To Handle The `Why Bother’ State

Photos by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

By now we must have swallowed the bitter truth that our wishes cannot build us a castle or get that work done, neither can our daydreams pay the bills. Persistence as a word does not suffer obscurity, but what many do not know is the power it gives and makes available to anyone who embraces it. Persistence has been held to mean the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people.

It is the natural disposition of almost everyone to give up when the going gets tough, to withdraw when we realize that that subject or course is actually harder than we thought it was, to give up on that relationship when the arguments and misunderstanding becomes more incessant than the sweet jolly moments, to bang down that glimmer of hope trying to surface because the last time you gave in burned you out, to give in to that sweet lazy sleep even when the alarm is crying its heart out, to give up making that entry or application because the last one was rejected, to defer that admission because that reasonable-sounding incident or excuse happened, the list can go on and on.

However, the difference between that desired success and this status quo is the ability to continue even when doing so seems to be an act of folly.

Recently, I discovered the world of freelance writing. I had always loved to write from my tender years. I wrote novels, short dramas, poems, articles, etc but only for the consumption of myself and friends. Recently, however, I got introduced to the act of writing for a wider audience and then it hit me, how much I did not know. There was so much to learn and they were all bouncing in torrents at my face at the same time. I had thought that because I loved to write, it was going to be easy to blend in, but then the more I ventured into this the more I realized my near virginity in the field of writing. I had to begin to learn, unlearn, and relearn facts and values about myself and my supposed writing skills and abilities. Then came the massive and daunting session on blogging, guest posting, media awareness, etc, all these were a lot to take in, coupled with my already busy schedule as an attorney.

The above and more were more than enough to make me give up and face my legal carrier, writing had always been a hobby, so what the heck! But then, in came that silent but powerful force of persistence. This was what held my hands when my fingers were too tired to type, what kept me away from the snare of pride and helped me begin the process of learning anew, what cushioned my back when it ached from exhaustion, what fired me up when I almost gave in to my share of discouraging moments.

It amazes how often and easily we give up when things seem to go south. It is the natural disposition of things to go wrong unless planned right, however sometimes, even thorough planning of a thing does not keep it from jaywalking. This is where your persistence should come to play. We give up most times not because the cause is hopeless, irredeemable, or unprofitable to us, quite the opposite. We most times know the harm or what we are going to lose by giving up, but we however still choose to do the same.

The act of persistence is a choice. Granted, it is said that some persons are biologically wired to have certain qualities and behave in a certain kind of way. As much as this is true, a total and undisputed belief in this fact will ultimately lead to a life plagued with unfinished projects and failures. Even if past experiences have revealed to you the existence of an imbued disposition to quit easily, a lifestyle of persistence can also be birthed, first through the making of a decision to only throw in the towel when the circumstance has become irredeemably hopeless and secondly, actually living this decision out in our daily endeavors.

It was Frank .A. Clark that rightly said, ‘if you find a path with no obstacle, it probably leads nowhere’.

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