Hold on...just a little bit further...

Perseverance - to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement

Determination - the act of deciding definitely and firmly; also: the result of such an act of decision b: firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end

The next Heroic Trait I want to talk about is perseverance. I’m going to combine perseverance with determination, as I think they are really related to the same concept.

What does it mean to persevere? I think everyone would agree that it would be to continue to the end in the face of any hardship or tragedy. Basically what Webster’s says. It’s definitely far easier to say than to do. Although, I don’t think that was always the case. I think that we now live in a time where the path of least resistance is not only preferred, but encouraged.

So why not take the easy roads? Why should we have to go out of our way to make life difficult and harder than it already is? I have heard many people ask these same questions. The only answer I have is that the easy path isn’t always the right path and in trying to take a shortcut, or avoid an immediate trial, you could end up in a much worse position and place further on down the road.

Perseverance is a matter of holding onto what you believe in, your core, regardless of how hard the journey becomes. And believe me; if you are holding onto your core, your journey WILL get difficult at times. You will be SO tempted to lay your core aside, just this once, to make things easier. You might tell a “small” lie to smooth something out. (BTW, there are NO small lies. A lie is a lie, no matter what.) You might be tempted to keep that extra $5 that the cashier gave to you. Hey it was their fault, right?

At this point, everything that makes a person Heroic should be screaming out for you to do the right thing. To gave the extra back, to hold firm to your principle of honesty and integrity. In short, to step away from the easy path.

Knowing that this is the path you are going to take, the more difficult path of the hero, you must be ready for some problems with people that you know right now. See, they are used to you right now, not the you that is growing and becoming. They may be used to the way that the world works right now and follow in its footsteps. By holding to your core and facing them on YOUR ground, you might lose some old friends and maybe even piss off those closest to you. But, HOLD ON!

“The people that mind, don’t matter and the people that matter don’t mind.”

I’m sure you’ve all heard that one before. In essence it’s true. But that doesn’t mean that you might not cause a little hurt when you make a big change. That is understandable. And those people that matter, will love you more, respect you more, and help you to continue becoming. That’s the great thing about the people that matter. They will love you no matter. :-)

This isn’t the easiest thing to do, persevere. But think about our favorite heroes from legend. They ALL had a long road of trials ahead of them. Think of Jason, Odysseus, Heracles, Frodo, etc. They all had a harsh road of trials for YEARS. Yet, in persevering, they held to their cores and when they came out the other side, there was SO much more waiting them.

Just remember, you are you and responsible to and for only you. Don’t sell yourself cheap and for goodness sake, don’t GIVE yourself away. Hold on tight and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I will cheer you every step of the way…and be waiting for you on the other side. :-)