Author: Thom Van

I don’t know about you, but when something is off I can feel it; and IT IS frustrating! This particular example was physically and painfully unavoidably off; and I was at a loss for the cause or a solution.

Last week, I felt a twinge in my back, took some ibuprofen and went about my business. I survived the remainder of the week and through the weekend thinking nothing of it again until I woke up immobile on Monday morning (Feel free to insert your getting old jokes here.) I racked my brain trying to recall what I could have possibly done to tweak my back to this degree and came up empty. I went through the usual remedy of interchanging the heating pad and ice packs hoping to alleviate the pain and get to the point where I could move around. I also tried a bit of light stretching in the case it was just tight muscles from some over exertion but nothing really seemed to get me feeling much better than 50%.

After mulling this over for a while, I wondered if there might be something out of alignment in my bed. Once we pulled off the mattress and box springs, the culprit was identified! We noticed the support stands were a full inch off in the middle from where they should be. Now to be fair, this was not the fault of the bed frame itself; I believe, when first moving in almost 3 years ago and in the spirit of being tired, just wanting to hurry up, get things together enough to sleep, this was an adjustment I meant to finish later when I had more energy. So, I guess I failed on that one. Ouch.

The conclusion I came to in this scenario is that if I know that an adjustment is needed, in anything I am working on, I have to make it while it is fresh in the mind or I might forget and create a more problematic situation later that may be more than just inconvenient. I have seen this play out in other context as well such as at work intending to fix a formula in excel, at home when thinking I will label the salt and sugar containers later, and so on.

Note to self: Do it now! Don’t put it off!

According to the merriam-webster definition: continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition

We all have experienced the act of perseverance whether in observation or practice. We have been given quotes or even offered them to others during a moment of trial in the path to accomplishment even despite the greatness of the product. In fact I find sometimes the most encouragement or prodding is needed when trying to complete the things that seem to be of lesser value.

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. 1. 1. “If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.” ― H.G. Wells
      2. “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” ― Winston S. Churchill
      3. “So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”  ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
      4. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” ― Thomas A. Edison
      5. “Never, never, never give in!” ― Winston S. Churchill

Recently, I once again found myself at that fork in the road between Abandon and Persevere. This time I was lucky enough to have others there to help talk me through it, not unlike those at the side of the road of a marathon handing out cheers and water.

In preparation for recording music and the new podcast I would be launching soon, I purchased some new equipment. I spent the night before my first guest interview installing the new software, ran test, troubleshooting issues, and solving problems and was completely prepared…that is until the next day when I hit record. I found myself going through all those same steps again but now feeling the pressures of circumstance and frustrated at not looking professional. Thankfully, this guest Nick Knudson, was wonderfully understanding and actually started trying to help. While he was looking at the computer and the program settings, I was able to step away a few moments and calm down, clear my thoughts, and then like a flash of lightning I recalled the last step I performed the previous night to get everything working.

Sometimes while in the process of persevering, it is good to know when to take a step back, clear your thoughts, and then keep moving. Also, it never hurts to make sure you surround yourself with good people that will encourage, motivate, and inspire you.

Nick Knudson: http://www.nicholasknudson.com/

Quotes found: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/perseverance