Perseverance is not about always being strong.
We often picture perseverance as gritting your teeth and pushing through. Someone running through pain, refusing to quit, jaw set, eyes forward. But I think that image does a lot of people a quiet disservice.
Real perseverance often looks much messier. It looks like crying and then showing up anyway. It looks like taking a break because you had to, and then coming back. It looks like asking for help which, honestly, might be the hardest form of not giving up.
There's a difference between perseverance and stubbornness. Perseverance holds onto the why even when the how has to completely change. You might abandon a plan, adjust a timeline, lower the stakes for a season and still be persevering in the deepest sense. You're still here. You're still trying. That counts.
In healing spaces especially, perseverance is deeply personal. Someone showing up to this forum on a hard day? That's perseverance. Someone who's tried to set a boundary twelve times and keeps trying? That's perseverance too.
It rarely looks heroic from the inside. But it is.
Discussion Prompt:
Think of a time you kept going even when it was hard, what was the one thing (a belief, a person, a small hope) that made continuing feel possible?
@listeningyouout29
I currently care full time for my parents and it can be tiring, emotional and hard to navigate some alone time, to do anything more than shower. What pushes me through is my faith, my love for them and knowing all I can do is my best 🩵🤗
@Amanda84
That’s truly beautiful. Your love and dedication shine through, and it’s clear your parents are so lucky to have you. Taking even small moments for yourself matters too, you’re doing amazing!
@listeningyouout29
@listeningyouout29
For me, a time I kept going was while managing a lot of responsibilities alongside my studies. Some days felt overwhelming, and I definitely had moments where I wanted to stop. What helped me continue was the belief that what I’m working towards will create a better future, even if progress feels slow.
@listeningyouout29
@listeningyouout29
For me, trying to balance my responsibilities, studies, and poor health was extremely hard. That definitely had me feeling things were too much. But imagining the kind of future I wanted, and realising that the work I’m doing now is actually beneficial, that helped me keep going. It gave me enough hope to continue when things felt bad.
Also, this post kind of made me realise how sometimes my perseverance is actually just me being stubborn 😄