What it means to persist

Persisting means continuing to try even when something is difficult or takes a long time. It means not giving up when faced with challenges or setbacks.

Challenges and setbacks are difficulties or problems that make it harder to reach a goal or complete a task.

Challenges and setbacks can trigger a range of emotions, which may depend on the situation and your past experiences. Some common feelings include:

• Frustration: If things do not go as expected, you might feel annoyed or impatient.
• Disappointment: You may feel let down if you do not achieve what you had hoped for.
• Self-doubt: A setback might make you question your abilities or decisions.
• Anxiety: Facing a challenge can feel overwhelming or uncertain.
• Loss of motivation: A setback might make you feel like giving up.

For example, if you try a new approach to completing a task and it does not work, you might feel frustrated and question whether you should continue. These feelings are natural, but how you respond to them can make a big difference.

Why and when it is important to persist 

Persisting helps build skills and confidence. It is an important part of success in many areas of life, as it allows people to overcome obstacles and achieve things they might not have thought possible at first.

Negative emotions can feel strong in the moment, but managing them effectively can help you stay focused and think clearly. Strategies to handle these feelings include:

• Taking deep breaths: A few slow, deep breaths can help to calm your mind and body.
• Pausing before reacting: Taking a moment to step back from the situation can stop emotions from taking control.
• Rethink the situation: Instead of thinking, "I failed," try, "This is a chance to learn and improve."
• Focusing on what you can control: Some things may be out of your hands, but you can decide how to respond.
• Talking to someone: Expressing your feelings to a trusted person can help you process them.

For example, if you receive feedback that your idea needs improvement, instead of feeling discouraged, you could remind yourself that feedback is a chance to grow.

How to keep going when faced with challenges 

There are a few things which might help you to keep going:

• Recognise your emotions and why you feel like that: It can be valuable to see your feelings and explore them. Naming your feelings can be very helpful in understanding and eventually managing them.
• Focus on what has been going well: While there might be a setback, there are probably also lots of things that have been going well. It’s important not to lose sight of the positive things that might also have been happening. 
• Put the setback in perspective: For smaller setbacks, there are probably alternative ways to achieve something. A late train probably just means being a bit late to something, a lost letter can be re-sent. Even more significant setbacks will not be as overwhelming as they might first appear, even if they are rightly things that will cause great sadness. 
• Think about taking positive action: When you feel ready to, think about what you could do next, which would be a positive way forward. 

These ideas are all explored further in the following steps. The focus, for now, is on not immediately giving up on what you are doing. Instead, it is about recognising those emotions and that the emotional desire to stop is not necessarily the right call.