Day 3 of the Power of Persistence. Today we’re going to talk about how we can persist when we just aren’t seen in progress. It’s hard to keep going when you aren’t seeing any results. So let’s see if when can find a way to persist in our march toward our goals when it seems we’re going nowhere.

The first thing we can do is look for the progress we’ve already made.  Just because we don’t see it doesn’t mean that it hasn’t happened. Maybe our temporary feelings of discouragement or self-doubt are covering or distorting reality. Just the other day, a friend of mine said, sometimes you have to look at the facts – just the facts and not what your mind is telling you about them. Sometimes when feelings get in the way of a realistic interpretation of what is happening, we need a way to separate the facts. She writes them down and as she does she asks herself a question. Is this true or is this something I’m just assuming. If it’s not a hard fact, she discards it. For example, Jill is a sales person. She’s passionate, prepared, articulate, intelligent, and has a killer product that will really solve a major issue for her list of prospects. So Jill has been trying to reach this particular well qualified prospect. She knows this prospect will buy and be thrilled with Jill’s product if she can get in front of her. After 7 attempts to reach this prospect. Jill is of course, discouraged. She starts tell herself, I can’t do this. This prospect is not going to buy. This prospect must not want me to call. It must be time to give up on providing this killer product to this prospect. But in reality the only fact Jill can be sure of is that she has attempted to contact her prospect seven times. Jill may not realize that it typically takes 8 attempts to reach a prospect. If Jill knew this she could look at each attempt as just one step closer to reaching her goal. One attempt down, 7 to go. Two attempts down, 6 to go.  Of course it may take more or less than 8 attempts to reach someone but seeing each attempt as a step toward a goal can help encourage us to continue.

Second, it’s important to know yourself and know which conditions are most likely to discourage you and keep you from pressing forward. Use this knowledge to prepare yourself for those discouraging moments that are sure to come.  Take steps to set up reminders that those things are potential road blocks or hurdles. Then when you are confronted with them, you will recognize them for what they are and make adjustments instead of giving up. The more recognizable you can make these conditions the earlier you’ll notice them and be able to adjust.

Remind yourself that most journeys are not without detours and washed out bridges. We can plan a great trip with the latest constantly updating navigation system but we still won’t know every bump in the road or accident that may block a particular route. We can know that we have options. We can learn which roadways to avoid and which to take. We can remember that even if the road runs out before we reach our destination, we blaze another one. If it doesn’t work, another one.

Keep reminders close. Write things down. Evaluate your methods. Remember that you’re not supposed to have all the answers. Learn from setbacks and press on. When it looks like we’ve made no progress, we need to step back and re-evaluate. Do we need to change the approach or look at the actual progress we’ve made and press on.

Famous Tennis Player, Billy Jean King said, “Champions keep playing till they get it right.”

Getting it right or not, I’m having a ball doing this podcast and I hope you are enjoying it too.  Did you enjoy today’s show? Drop me a line and let me know. Comment on my website rockinlife.co, on facebook Rockin’ Life with Colleen Crain or on Twitter @CCRockinLife. Thank you so much for listening. I have the best listeners anywhere! Have a great day and we’ll talk again tomorrow.