High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 26: Developing Your Persistence

Episode Date: January 18, 2016

Success takes something more than a talent and skills. Success takes the willingness to keep going even when the odds are against you or your enthusiasm has waned. Success takes persistence. It takes continuing your course of action despite difficulties, adversity or opposition. The great thing is that persistence is learnable. In this episode, Cindra talkes about successful people that have persisted as well as 3 strategies to develop your persistence.  

Welcome to High Performance Mindset with Dr. Sindra Kampoff. Do you want to reach your full potential, live a life of passion, go after your dreams? Each week we bring you strategies and interviews to help you ignite your mindset. Let's bring on Sindra. What's up up high performers? This is your host Sindra Kampoff and welcome to the High Performance Mindset Podcast. Today we are talking about persistence. What persistence really is, why it is so important for your future and your success. I'm going to share with you some examples of successful people that have persisted. And then we are going to end today's episode with three

strategies to help you develop your persistence. And as we get going with the episode, I want to first give a shout out to Weston Durham. I just received a super awesome tweet from Weston, directed at myself, Justin Sua, and Michael Gervais. And he had attached one of his blogs about the power of mentorship and how we are his virtual mentors. And Weston, I just want to thank you so much for that, as well as your comment about how you love the energy I attack each episode with. Weston, I believe that life should be lived with passion and energy. So thank you so much, man. And if you would all like to follow Weston, you can do so on Twitter at WT Durham. You can check out all the awesome things he is doing in the field of applied sports psychology.

So let's turn our attention to persistence. Persistence is continuing your course of action despite difficulties, opposition, or setbacks. Persistence is learnable. Last Sunday, I was at the Vikings game, and I've been watching how the Vikings have responded to the loss with a lot of persistence and a lot of motivation to be even better next year. I watched yesterday the Seahawks game when they had to overcome a 31-point deficit against the Panthers, and they really worked to do that. I've also been thinking quite a bit about persistence as I live in a really cold temperature right now. I live in Minnesota. Yesterday, it was minus 45 degree windshield and minus 18 regular temperature. So, you know, in sports and in life and in your jobs,

you need persistence. You know, most people don't reach their goals and their dreams because they just give up too easily. And if you've been trying to achieve a goal for a while and haven't met with success, chances are you'll stop pursuing it. But the difference between people who accomplish their goals and those that don't is they keep at it. Success takes something more than just talent and skills. It takes the willingness to keep going even when the odds are against you and even when your enthusiasm has decreased. You know, I really love this quote by Calvin Coolidge, ex-president, who said, nothing in the world can take the place of persistence and that's so true you know have

you ever felt that that you really wanted to bail on that one thing that you knew you were supposed to do I remember when I was working on my PhD and it was during my dissertation process which is at the end of your PhD and I had worked for months tirelessly working on this perfect draft of my dissertation. And I gave it to one of my committee members. And I got it back a few days later with her feedback. And oh, I had so much red ink on those paper that it was devastating. And I remember calling my dad and honestly wanting to give up. And he said, Sindra, you you know he gave me he gave me a really good motivational talk i couldn't give up at that point i was so close to the end but i wanted to i'm sure you have experienced similar times as well you really wanted to give up on something

but you kept on persisting you know that's one of the traits that successful people have in common. They persist. I think about how, the writer of the Harry Potter series, who couldn't find a publisher to publish her books. She was penniless before her first Harry Potter book was published. Or Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company, who had his five previous businesses failed and left him broke. Or how about Walt Disney was told he lacked imagination, had no good ideas. Could you imagine if those people would have given up on their goals and their dreams? Our world would be significantly different. I also think about Carrie Tolleson, who I interviewed for one of my podcast episodes really early on. And Carrie is an Olympian who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

And during the podcast, she talked about how she dreamed of being an Olympian. That was her goal. And as she entered the Olympic trials in both the 1500 and the 3000, she thought that she had the better chance in the 3000. That was her race. And she got a devastating fourth place. She thought that she had the better chance in the 3000. That was her race. And she got a devastating fourth place. You know, the top three are the three who make it to the Olympics.

And she got fourth. Now she could have clearly just given in and said, you know what, it's not my year to be an Olympian. But her desire was bigger than her disappointment. Her vision for herself was large and she had a clear vision to become an Olympian. So she moved up quickly to her next option and she raced her heart out to qualify in the 1500. She's now an Olympian and no one can ever take that away from her. Every successful person has these types of stories because they haven't given up on their goals and their dreams they haven't given up on what they believe that they are destined for and they

haven't given up on what they can do in this world so my friends let's talk about three strategies to help you develop your persistence. The first strategy is this. Know what you want and write your goals down. You know, goals are so powerful. The research suggests that goals direct your focus and attention. They help you persist in the face of adversity. Goals increase your self-confidence. And we know that research suggests the world's most successful people,

athletes, business leaders, entrepreneurs set clear, simple, and targeted daily goals and they know how these daily goals connect with their long-term goals and their vision. The key is that you have to ink it, not just think it. And what I mean by that is write it down. You're going to be able to hold yourself a lot more accountable when you write your goals down and you're more likely to achieve those goals. So my friends, know what you want and write it down. What do you really want to do this year? Make sure you write three or four goals down of what you'd like to accomplish this year. And check out a previous episode a few weeks ago where I talk

about goals and the power of goal setting. The second strategy is to keep your why front and center. And you know, when you know what your why is, your purpose or your cause, that why inspires you to keep on going. And when you know what your why is, you're going to be inspired every day and give everything that you have for that. Because when you have a strong enough why, you can figure out any how. And that why gives you a stronger purpose for what you do. You realize that you can get through anything when you know what your why is. So think about why you really want to accomplish that goal and that why can give you the persistence that you need. I'd encourage you to write your why right down by your goals and where you're writing those goals down. You know, every day I think

about why I do what I do. I wouldn't have started this podcast if I wouldn't be keeping my why front and center. And that's my why is I play big so I can inspire others to do so. And I can inspire others to learn to master their mindset so they can really live a life that they were destined to. So what's your why, my friend? Why do you want to keep on persisting? why do you want to keep on persisting why do you want to keep on going after your goals and your dreams the third strategy is to change your self-image you know the most important strategy for getting more persistent is to see yourself as a persistent person when the urge to quit you know, the first response that you should, you should have is to say, you know what, that is not part of who I am. And when you stay the course,

when you deliver, when you get it done, you learn to be more persistent. So the three strategies and tips for you that I have today are number one, know what you want and make sure you have your goals written down for the year and even long term, five, 10, 20 years from now. Write those goals down. Number two, keep your why front and center to keep you motivated, to keep you inspired, and to keep you passionate about what exactly you want to do in this world. And number three, change your self image. Believe that you are a persistent person, that you don't give up on yourself and your goals and your dreams. My friends, what will you do today to get one step closer to your goals and your dreams? Go do it.

And thank you so much for joining me today. If you liked this message, I would encourage you to go check out my free video series. It's a four-part video series about how to master your mindset. It's only going to be up this week for the next five or seven days. And you can find it at drcindracampoff.com. You can also find a link on my website at cindracampoff.com and click on Master Your Mindset for the free four-part Master Your Mindset video series. This week, my friends, be mentally strong and make it an outstanding week.