Victory through Perseverance

by: Atty. Carolina Lim-Gamban

We have heard the cliché, “never give up, never surrender.” Many actors, even political leaders used this sentence to encourage and stir up the hearts of the followers in the midst of trying times. Many scientists, in their journey towards the success of an invention or discovery, also applied this principle. In the midst of battle against the alien enemy, when the probability of winning is thin and low, Commander Taggart in the film Galaxy Quest uttered these words when one of the crew said that the only option is to surrender. Winston Churchill, in the midst of the World War II, when Britain is in the brink of defeat against the Nazi ruler, gave his encouraging speeches for his fellow people not to give up and continue to fight that inspired his countrymen until they achieved victory. “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” These were his words showing much perseverance including the famous quote, “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” Our scientists and inventors of the old, having the determination and keeping the eyes on the goal, never gave up until they have discovered great things or have created something wonderful that until now, we are benefiting from. Remember Thomas Alva Edison who was credited for the commercial incandescent light bulb? We can only imagine how many light bulbs were created and tested just to create the best combination. We can only imagine how many times he failed until he was able to succeed.
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Perseverance is a continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition. The road to success is never easy especially in the presence of obstacles, humps, traffic jam, and even detour along the way. Though we can stop or give up, this will never make our situation better. We will just be trapped in the circumstance and worse, can no longer move on. Perseverance does not concern what speed you are taking to arrive at your destination. It is more concerned on how you would continue moving when something would stop you along the way. Failures sometimes pull us down and triggers us to stop. We take it as a mistake and would not want to be put in the same position, thus we stop. B.F Skinner, an American Psychologist said, “A failure is not always a mistake. It may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.” A Japanese proverb says, “Fall seven times and stand up eight.” This is similar to Confucius words, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
 
Like one traveling to a journey, how can we persevere? One, press on toward the goal. It is always helpful to remind ourselves the ultimate goal we want to achieve so that we can look for solutions when problem arise. We fix our eyes on the destination. Second, make sure you are motivated – that you have the necessary fuel to keep going. What motivates you? Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Having the right heart set and mindset will give us the proper motivation to achieve our goal. Third, keep on going and do not be disheartened when there are obstacles, trials, or even failures. Treat these as lessons to learn from, and experience to grow from. Every lesson will help us mature from glory to glory, strength to strength. Fourth, when we reach our destination and have reached our goal, give honor to whom honor is due. Give thanks, give love, give. Do not take the glory for yourself but take the lessons and experiences so that you have something to use in the next journey.

In challenging situations, never give up and choose to continue, persevere. Hold on to our Maker as God promised never to leave us nor forsake us. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Let perseverance finish its work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. For after all, “Victory belongs to the most persevering.”