Tenacity is a much valued quality. Having the staying power, the resilience to take the knocks, and bounce back, determined, relentless, dedicated to the achievement of your goals.
That is, unless it’s ridiculous, hopeless or destined to failure. Bloody-minded stubbornness that is just plain stupid.
Trouble is, how do you make that distinction?
One new client had shown incredible tenacity in the light of a bullying scenario. He stuck it out, hoping things would get better. Sure that in the end, he would be able to overcome the problem. And when he did, the promotion prospects and opportunities in the company would good. Head down and carry on.
But he admitted to me, “I should have left years ago. The stress has led to health issues, relationship problems and only now can I see it would never have worked out. I feel like I’ve wasted the last couple of years.”
Somebody else said to me recently, “I’ve been making myself an irritant with this product idea. I’ve been described as a broken record, banging on and on about… Never going to happen is it?”
How do you decide when to draw the line? When is it right to persist beyond reasonable bounds? At what point should you move on to something else?
No clear cut way of doing this, so a few pointers to consider:
- Make sure you are clear about what you are being tenacious about? Exactly what are you determined to achieve or do? Vague notions or wholly emotionally driven endeavours don’t make it easy to decide.
- Why are you currently persisting? What is it that is driving you onwards, keeping you focused on making it a reality?
- In the pursuit, what risks are you exposing yourself to?
- Are the potential benefits big enough to still justify the effort and risk?
- Is the probability that you will prevail high enough to justify the journey?
- Who else can you get a second opinion from? Make sure this is someone you trust and it well qualified to advise.
- Is you heart still in this?
- What else could you do?
Without wishing to talk you out of audacious ambitions, when you are investing a significant amount in the drive, regular sanity checks are prudent.
That said, where there is a will there is a way, and a mind obsessively focused on an objective is a creative mind that heeds no alternative.
Go for it!
The Gautrey Influence Blog
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