Persistence is the Earnest Flow of Hard Work

Water is a great model for persistent endurance. The successful person demonstrates persistent endurance against the hardest situations.

 March 16, 2020

https://www.deviantart.com/cindy1701d/art/Flowing-Water-176702058

Persistence is defined as “continuance till the end.”[1]  Endurance is defined as: “theability to withstand hardship or adversity; especially, the ability to sustaina prolonged stressful effort or activity.”[2] The difference between the two is that persistence is remaining steady in hopes of finishing while endurance is bearing pain so that you can finish. Yet, great power emerges when we combine the two elements. 

The successful person demonstrates persistent endurance against the hardest situations. Water is a great model for persistent endurance. The combination of two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule creates a powerful force. Water has a way of pushing through incredible obstacles, one drip at a time. There have been many instances where what seemed to be an insignificant drip was a tiny part of a larger body of water pushing through a little at a time. Water is also very adaptable to what it wants to accomplish. Water can be calm and peaceful, while in just moments, it can become raging and destructive. A lake can rise inch by inch and suddenly become a flood. A bay can combine with wind to be an agitator and bulldozer.

Imagine our life as if it were more like water. We could be determined to push through our obstacles to serve, whether by peace or by force. Water can trickle along gently, flowing across pebbles and shaping them as it moves over them. It exerts gentle pressure over time and softens hard rocks into rounded pebbles. A stream joins with other streams to make a river. A river combines with other rivers to make its way to an ocean. Water is not satisfied with being a mere drop. Water is sticky and combines drop by drop to become a grand ocean. Water changes things...persistent endurance changes things.

Water carries life along its banks. It carries progress from place to place. People, like water, move from where they are to where they need to be through a continuance of pushing forward and helping others along the journey. Successful persistent endurance is not about the “me,” but about sticking and clinging to the hope of our dreams by serving the “them” along our journey. Much like water as it flows, carving out landscapes and bringing vital hydration to the land around it.

Jim Watkins stated, “A river cuts through rock,not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”[3] Water is a change agent. It changes barren lands to fertile grounds. It can cut off, or it can bring together. Water changes the power balance. Water rises to the occasion. When water unites and flows too much into the container, water finds new paths for it to flourish by overflowing. When life tries to contain it, water pushes through to where it wants to go.

Successful people ... become more like water. Successful people are persistently enduring through actions of helping, uniting, and overflowing. Those who desire success can learn from the water and move dreams toward goals, one step at a time. Goals are not reached overnight, but through the diligence of continued steps achieved through persistent endurance, success is attainable.

Successful people commit to the work of their dreams, to bring real goals to fruition, and fruition to prosperity by flowing in persistent endurance throughout the little steps of serving, working together, and giving the overage of life. Persistent endurance is never satisfied with stagnancy, but keeps the current flowing and moving toward a life full of productivity, creativity, and fruitfulness.

There is so much power in a single drop of water. It is just the beginning. It is only the promise of what is yet to come. If a drop of water can move a mountain with persistent endurance, then surely, we can persistently endure through the river of life to take our dreams to the ocean of achievement.

Stay strong and be persistent! You Know I Love Ya, Don

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[1] Persistence. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/persistent. Accessed 9/17/17.

[2] Endurance. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/endurance. accessed 9/17/17.

[3] Watkins, Jim. 30 Inspiring Quotes to Help You Develop More Perseverance and Persistence. https://www.michaeldpollock.com/inspiring-quotes-persistence-perseverance. Accessed 3/16/20.

Relationship Skills change with Social Media

Has social media changed the interaction with people in our communication and relationship skills?

I define communication as a transactional process unique in human beings by the exchange of symbols through verbal and non-verbal languages. For example, when I communicate with someone else, I am transacting symbols of communication with the other person and expect some response. The transaction continues as the person responds and the process continually builds on what was previously transacted.

If we agree on the definition of communication, then is there a change within our scope of the communication transaction as a result of social media? I believe there is and the first step in improving our communication skills is in acknowledging the changes.

A good case study is how our society has changed in the usage of magazine publication which was once a huge print business in the world. A good review of the impact on the magazine publishing world is written by Parul Jain, Zulfia Zaher, and Enakshi Roy in Magazines and Social Media Journal of Magazine & New Media Research. The title of their research and finding is Magazines and Social Media Platforms: Strategies for Enhancing User Engagement and Implications for Publishers. (3Vol. 17, No. 2 Winter 2017).

A few highlights of their work that I found worth noting for our question are:

• “Most stakeholders expect organizations to have some presence on social media platforms, and a lack of it is considered unacceptable and non-normative in this day and age” (page 2). 

• “Given the nature of social media platforms, an audience that engages with magazines can critique the content put forth by the magazine, create new content on that magazine’s social pages, interact with fellow readers, and express both positive and negative emotions online” (page 3).

Jain, Zaher, and Roy make a noteworthy quote for our question from Malthouse, Calder, and Eadie:

• "Less engaged customer would be one who merely provides simple feedback, such as 'liking' an image on a social media platform, while a more engaged customer would be one who “actively engages in co-creation,” such as producing content for the brand"2 (page 4).

As we examine the changes in communication and in our relationships, we must also accept the use of social media platforms is a diverse field. In 2015 Magazine Publication Associate reported of the top five followed/liked magazine brands on media National Geographic and Vogue were listed. Interestingly, the vast diversity in the magazine’s primary theme was also reflected in the diversity of the platform in which the user was engaging the magazine in a social media setting. Which I see as a direct tie-in with Jain, Zaher, and Roy’s earlier statements that: “one of the main motivations for engaging with a magazine on social media was the accessibility of magazines across multiple social media platforms and various devices” (page 11).

In response, Jain, Zaher and Roy concluded: “Our findings suggest that the participants gratify different needs (such as home décor and fashion) utilizing specific platforms that are more likely to cater to those needs” (page 16). Another response is: “Magazine readers expect publishers to maintain an engaging and relevant social media presence” (page 18).

The changes are not limited to magazine publishing. The above is simply one case study which illustrates the larger truth: Social Media has change the scope of our communication skills. We are no longer a society focusing on one medium such as a magazine, newspaper, journal, or media outlet to access information. Social media allows for the reader to share the information across large audiences through their social media platforms. Communication as a transaction is evolving with the digital age, thus our relational communication must evolve. Social media expands relational access as well as allowing a reader to look beyond the vast material to a specific search criteria. It would appear as a result of social media, our communication skills and our relational skills are growing and increasing for the better while making “it is a small world after all.”

There is one thing that has not changed ... You know I love ya, Don

1. Parul Jain, Zulfia Zaher, Enakshi Roy, Magazines and Social Media Platforms: Strategies for Enhancing User Engagement and Implications for Publishers. Magazines and Social Media Journal of Magazine & New Media Research. 3Vol. 17, No. 2 • Winter 2017

2. Edward C. Malthouse, Bobby J. Calder, and Wayne P. Eadie, “Conceptualizing and measuring magazine reader experiences” (presentation, Worldwide Readership Symposium, Cambridge, MA,2003),285–306.