Keep On Keepin’ On

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts.”- Winston Churchhill. 

This quote from Winston Churchill is one of my favorites. As parents, we celebrate the “small” feats such as 3 days of our toddler going to the potty, or perhaps two weeks without a call from the school regarding your child’s behavior.  We finally think we are making some progress,  but then we are reminded, success is not final. Our toddler poops in the pamper; the fourth-grader can’t stop talking in class. Do we give up? No, because we realize failure is not fatal, we stay persistent knowing that eventually the 2-year-old will be a 12-year-old who regularly goes to the bathroom, and the 12-year-old will eventually become a young adult who knows when to shut his mouth. We continue to parent because we know that the correct consistency will yield desirable results. 

Now, what about when we are on the job? One month the numbers in your department look great; the outcomes positively correlate with the profit. However the next month you are well below your benchmark. You are over budget rather than under budget. Do you give up? Do you change your game plan? Or do you stay consistent with the core principles that brought you the initial success? I understand that strategies may change or require modification; however, you must not neglect your core values. Learn from the mishaps but continue to perfect the “little things” that brought you the big success.

Let’s take it a little further. Do you give up on yourself in relationships? Do you give up on you? I’ve found that as a single mom, it’s easy for me to be confident in my abilities to navigate through work issues because typically a large part of it depends mostly on my efforts. It’s reasonable to take control of certain issues with the kids because I’m the parent. But in relationships, it’s a different story. I have to trust that someone else puts in the effort and I can’t call all of the shots. In essence, my perception of control is all but gone, and if you are like me, that is scary. Fear strangles your strength. When you lose your strength you lose a piece of yourself. You must find the courage to tackle your fears and continue to evolve individually in order to properly evolve with someone else. 

In essence, no matter what obstacles life throws your way, whether on the job, at home in a relationship, or within yourself, you must stay persistent. Sometimes it’s easier to give up than to toughen up. But you can’t let fear cripple you. Instead, you do your best and the pieces will fall where they may. And in the midst of it all; the successes, the failures, the victories, and defeat, you remember that none of it lasts forever. The secret to life is simply to keep on keeping on.