The Connection Between Persistence and Risk

Are you persistent?

I was browsing my LinkedIn feed today when I came across this post from Dr. Nicole L’Etoile about persistence.

I recommend you read the entire post, but she asks the question:

“Are you persistent?

I don’t mean stubborn. I mean relentless in pursuit of your goals, even when the path isn’t easy, linear, or funded.”

She went on to say:

“So I made a hard call and transferred to FIT in NYC for in-state tuition. That meant no more field hockey, but it was the right move.”

That’s when it struck me. Persistence is one part tenacity, one part a willingness to take calculated risks.

Hear me out.

Persistence and Risk

I’m a four-time drop-out. When my own education wasn’t a truly deep, driving goal of me, I wasn’t willing to do the risky things necessary to stick with it.

I dropped out of high school after my junior year. I told myself at the time that it’d be faster to just get my General Education Degree (GED), then go straight into community college and get an associate’s degree.

I got my GED. There was no risk involved, but there also weren’t really any barriers. It was a simple, easily achievable goal that required no persistence.

Then I enrolled in community college the next Fall. But after about two weeks, I gave up and dropped out.

Two whole weeks.

I was starting my long path of vision loss at the time, and I had to listen to my textbooks on cassette tape. I had binders full of tapes that all had to be rewound and fast-forwarded in order to read my books. It was slow going, and frankly I lacked the drive or tenacity at the time to stick with it.

It wasn’t risky to drop out. It would have been risky to stick with it, despite not knowing how long I could hold out. Despite not knowing if it would be worthwhile. Despite not knowing what the future held for me.

So I took the easy path.

Several years later, when I was 20 years old and married, I went back to community college with my at-the-time wife. School was going to be easier this time, I figured, because I had someone to go with and learn with.

I made it all the way to my second quarter before dropping out. Can you believe it? I actually completed about four whole courses!

My textbooks were on CDs by that time, but they weren’t any easier to manage. I also still lacked the drive and commitment to stick with it.

Once again, the easy and less risky option was to just drop out. Because I wasn’t having a good time. Because it wasn’t as easy as I wanted it to be.

It would be another seven years before I gave it another attempt. My third time around at community college, and that time I was going to school with my new partner and a mutual friend. Now I had a full support group behind me.

I actually ended up taking something like 132 credit hours before finally giving up on school that time.

The problem?

In order to graduate, I needed to take some specific science classes. Lab sciences.

As a blind person, that scared me. I didn’t know what it was going to be like to have to make accommodations for these science classes that were fundamentally physical and visual. I did everything I could to put off taking my science classes until the end of my degree program. Then I ran out of financial aid, which is apparently something you can do in the US.

So I dropped out. With lots of student loan debt and nothing to show for it.

I didn’t want to take the risk on those lab science classes. Maybe they would have been nothing. But I scared myself right out of a degree and an accomplishment.

A few years later, my partner (and now wife) finished her bachelor’s degree program at a private university that had adult degree programs. The programs were specifically designed for working adults who wanted to get their undergraduate degrees despite being in later stages of life.

She showed me it could be done, so I decided one more time to try it.

I finally got my bachelor’s degree at age 34. I still ended up having to take a lab science class to make up for not having taken one at community college, but I had my wife’s support. She helped me put my goals in front of me, instead of behind me, and I realized that there was value in doing hard things in life.

With her help, I found the persistence I needed to accomplish my goal. I also had someone in my corner to help me look at the risks, weigh them versus the potential rewards, and take the leap.

Another eight years later, and I’m back at it again. I’m pursuing my Master’s in Management and Leadership (MSML). The decision to pursue this goal is coming with more risks than ever.

· When I first enrolled for the MSML program, I was recently unemployed. I had no money to pay for my education, and no grants available to help. It’s risky, but I opted to enroll despite taking out some student loans (and, thankfully, getting financial support from my state’s Vocational Rehabilitation agency).

· I turned down an offer for a stable, decent-paying job in favor of doing freelance contract work. The stable job wouldn’t have given me the flexibility I need to focus on my education. This was a huge risk, because I’ve been the primary income earner in my family for several years. It really requires buy-in from my whole family.

· My degree program is self-paced, so I’m able to complete it within a year if I can remain focused and dedicated. But that’s going to take a lot of my time every week. I’m going to pursue my one-year plan despite the risks of burn-out, or of lack of time, or of lack of convenience.

Some might call this being persistent in pursuit of a goal. I’d agree with that.

But I also think that the persistence comes with plenty of risks. Without being willing to take those risks, there wouldn’t be any persistence.

Mitigating the Discomfort of Risks

Which brings me to my final point. Risk-taking is uncomfortable. Scary, even.

But when those risks are in pursuit of a goal, they can be worthwhile.

More important, though, is having a support system in place to help you take risks. I am not a risk taker by nature, but having my wife’s support has helped me overcome my fears.

Our support systems can be there for us to help us when we need to be persistent. Whether it’s your work team, your family, your volunteer squad, or your classmates, they’re there to lean on for help when you need them.

I’d encourage you to resolve to never take risks alone when you don’t have to. It’s easier when you have literally anyone else in your corner to tell you that it’s going to be okay, even if there’s no way of knowing that’s the case.

So the next time you need to find the persistence to do something, especially when that comes with a risk, reach out to someone you trust. Let them know your concerns. Tell them of your goals, your worries, and your needs. Odds are that if they’re someone you trust, they’ll bend over backwards to help.

Just remember to reciprocate when they come to you, too.

How about you? What risks have you overcome in the name of being persistent? Or what goals do you need help achieving?

Let us know in the comments. Then, for more thoughts on how to achieve Growth for ALL, remember to subscribe for future posts.