Tenacity is a good word. It means 'the quality or fact of being very determined; determination.' Like a persistent terrier with a tasty bone. He won't let go and will keep tugging at it until it's his. There are times in life when we must be tough and keep pushing forward to our goal. I'm in just a place right now. My business is not attracting the interest that I hoped it would, everything is set up, everything looks good, the doors are open but nobody is walking in. It's frustrating, worrying and discouraging. I've thought about giving up and looking for a job, but I also feel that I could be nearing a breakthrough.
We go through various stages when undertaking big goals and objectives:
When we start out on any personal mission, whether it's trying to lose weight and get fit, set up a business, complete a course of study or any other self improvement undertaking we start with great intentions, enthusiasm and excitement. It's a positive moment as we can imagine our future self having achieved what we set out to do.
After we have started out we often experience early gains. Setting up a business you might get your business plan approved, website developed or shop fitted out, it looks great and drives you forward to the next achievement. Getting fit, you buy your sports gear, start running, change your diet and notice yourself feeling better within a matter of days. You might even lose a few pounds which encourages you to continue. You begin your study, get stuck into the books, interested in all the new things that you are learning and can't wait until the next stage or module.
As we continue we find that it's actually quite difficult to achieve something of any significance, but we expected this and so we continue and keep going in the knowledge that it will be worth it in the end. The early gains that we experienced are fewer and less profound, but that's OK, we are still making gains.
At some point during any attempt to achieve something we will experience setbacks, sometimes a series of setbacks, where it feels like we are taking three steps backwards and one forward. It's frustrating and this is the stage where many people will give up. At this stage we will experience inexplicable weight gain, we'll feel tired or weak during fitness goals. Setting up a business we might receive some terrible feedback or have a disaster of some kind. Studying we might get a low grade or find that we simply cannot get our head around some concept. This is where I am at the moment. I have no clients but lots of value to offer. I'm seeing lots of money going out of the door, but none coming in. Friends tell me to give up as it's a waste of time. Potential clients disappear without a trace. It's a depressing time and I've been about ready to give up on a number of occasions. However I remember reading somewhere that it's always darkest right before dawn. This is the time to revisit strategy, redouble efforts and get in touch with my inner terrier. It's time to grab that bone and pull it with all my strength. It has required me to dig deeper than ever before, it has required me to work harder than ever before and I've had to face the massive emotional and physiological challenges as I self search and wonder whether I am a failure.
Just at my lowest point I have a breakthrough. My first client wants me to undertake some work and a number of other opportunities have arisen, all in the same week. I'm not quite there yet, but right now I'm glad I didn't give up when I felt at my lowest. These breakthroughs will hopefully give me the energy to power on through to success.
Nothing that was easy to achieve was ever really worth it. If you want to achieve something worthwhile, you will always experience difficulties and sometimes you will run into major set backs and be on the verge of giving up. At this point you must become tenacious, you must keep the faith and you must keep on keeping on, because this usually the stage that precedes breakthrough.
