Perseverance Reflective Essay

Perseverance is a unique trait that is made of several characteristics. A person who has
perseverance is strategic, creative, optimistic, resilient and determined. When you are faced
with a challenge you must be strategic with how you deal with it. Not everything is to be
decided on hastily, sometimes you must sit back and think through your choices. It may
delay what youre working towards but you will prevail in the end. You must also be creative
with your response to a problem. Think out of the box and consider your choices then,
decide on what is best for you and the ones around you. Optimism is necessary to persevere.
You have to hope for the best and plan for the worst. Thinking positive and having a positive
attitude is key to persevering because it is reassuring to those around you and to yourself.
Resilience is perhaps the most important trait of all to persevere. If you are unable to regain
your balance and take on a problem you will not persevere. Unfortunately you will not have
success at everything you do the first time you try it. So that being said, expect to fail, but
also let that motivate you to be ready to bounce back and try your best. Last you must be
determined. If you have no drive behind your goal how do you expect yourself to persevere?
You must imagine your goal, you must want it, and you have to envision it! All of these
characteristics are key to persevering in anything you try.
Now there are many examples of people who persevered through thick and thin. However
there are different types of perseverance. A person who perseveres can be doing it as a
noble act or for a personal gain. For example Martin Luther King was a civil rights activist and
he fought for what he believed in. In the end it led to his assassination. He did not live to see
his dream come true but he still persevered through his task and after his death racial
discrimination was abolished in public settings. This was an act of noble perseverance. On
the other hand Donald Trump went through bankruptcy in the 80s and got divorced in the
same time period. He probably didnt enjoy going to a failing company everyday and then
coming home to an empty house. However through rough times Trump persevered, the late
90s and 2000s were very good for him and now he has a net worth in the billions. Now
Martin Luther King and Donald Trump are two totally different types of people and
persevered for two totally different causes, but they both persevered and without strategy,
creativity, optimism, resilience, and determination they would have failed miserably.
Perseverance is more than just never giving up, it is a trait that us as humans can choose to
possess and apply in our lives.






During my eighteen years of existence I have been subjected to countless advisements,
proposals, teachings and guidance. And though I am extremely grateful for all the lessons
have I have encountered, one specific piece of advice triumphs over the rest. A British
author known as Samuel Johnson once declared, Great works are performed not by
strength, but by perseverance. The significance and impact that this quote had over me was
enough to form and shape my behaviors for the duration of my high school career. I spent all
four years attempting to maintain an aura of diligence and understand the components of
perseverance.


If one were to look up the definition of perseverance they would simply see a cluster of large
synonyms that have little purpose and lack compelling denotation. Nevertheless, over the
years I have learned that perseverance is more of a state-of-mind than it is a simple
adjective. In 2007 when I became a high school student I quickly realized a lot of things
about myself. I became aware that success was an important part of my education and in
order to obtain my desired success, I was going to have to develop an incredibly persistent
work ethic. I made a plan to always take notes in class and never miss a homework
assignment. Little did I know, however, that those were only the beginning steps in
becoming an accomplished student. I needed to demonstrate my ability to remain
determined, focused, and devoted. Even being slightly stubborn and relentless proved itself
helpful when it came to challenges in my education.


In specific subjects such as Math and Science the words of Johnson seemed to have a
surprising effect on me. Algebra and Chemistry contained some of the hardest concepts Ive
ever had to deal with. It was in these two classes that I learned I did not possess the natural
strength that these subjects required. What I did possess, however, was perseverance. I
worked unbelievably hard, spending many of my lunches, studies, and afternoons obtaining
extra help in both classes. I became focused on not just learning the material, but actually
understanding it. The notes and homework assignments went beyond normal school work
and I treated every task like it was a test. I soon realized that I was no longer treating these
courses like a high school class, rather a personal assessment taxing my endurance. I had
now entered a state-of-mind. The exact state-of-mind that is perseverance.

The quote by Johnson has taught me that to persevere is to maintain the highest level of
motivation that one has. High school was a time for me to perfect my capability to persevere
and I plan to use my capabilities starting the first day I walk through the college campus
doors. The ability to remain motivated and maintain immunity against defeat is perhaps the
most important ability that one can acquire. For me, I was able to begin my journey towards
this ability due to the insightful words of Samuel Johnson.
What does Perseverance mean ? Perseverance means persistence in doing something
despite difficulty or delay in achieving a goal or success. Perseverance is an attitude of
persisting one single idea, discipline, ideal, rules to achieve success, to achieve a goal- in
spite of facing n- number of difficulties, obstructions, hurdles, failures etc.
There are numbers of failures and hurdles, you have to pass through before you achieve
something worthwhile in life. The only undying quality imbibed in every successful man, is
the quality of perseverance. It is this quality which makes even seemingly impossible task
possible.
Permanence, Perseverance and Persistence in spite of obstacles, discouragement and
impossibilities. These are the things that distinguish the strong from the weak. Perseverance
is failing 99 times and achieving success the 100th time. Perseverance is a necessary quality
for success. Only if you bang hard enough and loud enough on someone's gate, they will
wake up and open the gate.
There is an apt saying that Fire is the test of Gold and Adversity is the test of Man. The key
to success in any field is perseverance, industriousness and single minded effort to achieve
the Goal. Success is like a ladder where you have to climb step by step and do a lot of hard
work to reach at the top. The fruit of your success will surely be sweet. You must not run
away from perseverance but rather adopt it and use it.
Abraham Lincoln was driven by perseverance to fight for the freedom of the slaves. Many
battles were lost, A lot of blood was shed. But finally the rebels with Abraham Lincoln
supporting them won. This is a very good example.













I believe that hard work and perseverance will result in success. With hard work and
perseverance you can do so many things in your life. I have played tennis now for twelve
years, and it is definitely a huge part of my life. I have been through very hard times and I
have sacrificed for my tennis career a lot, and its allowed me to be a stronger, better and
more successful person.

As a child, when I played, it was just because my parents wanted me to play tennis, but as I
got older, it became more about the sport. The thrill, the challenge, the excitement I lived
for it all. First two years were just for fun. I practiced twice a week and did not think about a
professional tennis career. After two years of playing in a big group with bunch of other kids,
my coach said to my parents that I am actually very talented player and he sees a potential.
That is when I started taking tennis more seriously. That is when the hard work and
perseverance started. I was eleven years old when I won my very first tennis tournament. I
still can remember that day: I cried, my mom cried and my dad cried. I remember how happy
I was and how happy my parents were. After that one win I started to believe that I can be a
professional tennis player, and I also got an amazing feeling from my first win that I wanted
to win more and more.

I have sacrificed because of my tennis career a lot, and not only me, my whole family. We
have moved three times just to give me better opportunities to improve in better conditions.
I lived and practiced six months in Czech Republic. I was there by myself, without my parents,
friends and far away from home, and I was only fifteen. I have also had to say No to a lot
of things, like going to movies with my friends, parties and a lot of other things. But I do not
regret anything. All these things have made me so many new friends. Just because of my
tennis career, I have been to more than twenty different countries around the world. Like in
any sport, you can win or lose. I have had so many tough losses in my career, but I feel like
they only made me stronger. There were times when I did not have confidence. There was
no doubt that the only way to gain self-confidence would be to practice. I began to
understand that I couldnt get much farther without hard work, determination, and
perseverance.

So here I am, 20 years old, living and studying in one of the greatest countries in the world,
America, and it is all because of my hard work and perseverance in tennis. I am blessed that I
have a chance to get a good education and play tennis for college at the same time. I am
very thankful to my parents for everything they have done for me. I really like what Steve
Jobs once said: Your time is limited, so do not waste it living someone elses life. Do not be
trapped by dogma which is living with the result of other peoples thinking. Dont let the
voice of others opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the
courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly
want to become. Everything else is secondary. You have to want to be successful and get
better in anything you do in your life. You have to be determined. It means spending hours
on the court, practicing. It means never giving up. It means when you miss a shot or make a
bad decision, you come back even stronger, knowing that in order to succeed, you must first
fail. That is what I have learned from my college tennis coach Brett Bridel, and I will never
forget his words.

I want to be the best. I want to go far and be successful. I have goals. Only with hard work,
determination and perseverance I can do all that. As Donald Trump once said: I like thinking
big. If you are going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big. I also liked what
great basketball player Tim Duncan once said: Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until
your good is better and your better is best. These two quotes are one of my all time
favorite, and they motivate me a lot.