What Is Tenacity?

Tenacity, like patience, has never been my strongest suit.

One of the keys to succeeding at reaching the destination of any given path, though, is tenacious resolve.

What does it mean to have tenacity? It is best described as the ability to stick-to whatever you are trying to make happen. I often picture this as a dog with her jaws fastened to a stick she just will not relinquish. She would rather hold onto it then let it go, even to be thrown. That is tenacious resolve.

In the steps of conscious reality creation (thought, feeling and action), tenacity is particularly important to feeling. This is where unwavering resolve in feeling the desired goal, as though it is already complete, is so incredibly important.

Most of the great inventors who have changed the world had a singular vision. They saw the thing they wanted to create. Maybe they knew how it could come about, but likely they didn’t. Still, they believed. They felt it in their soul as being real. Nothing would derail them from their feeling that they could make their invention happen. That’s what it is all about.

Manifestation of anything we desire begins with thought. I have this idea. Then, we have to give that thought feeling. It feels amazing to see this idea become reality. Having the idea in my possession improves my life. This idea makes me happy. Yes, the initial feeling is going to likely look ahead. But visceral feelings in the here-and-now are how we consciously create reality and make the idea manifest.

From the thought and feeling there will be intentional action. I am making a list of all the cool things the idea, manifested, will let into my life or I am inspired to take this action for the idea.

Tenacity is the difference between “Try” and “Do”.

How often do I refer to this quote from Yoda? “Try not…do, or do not…there is no try!” The reason Yoda tells Like this is because he needs to fully believe in no other outcome but what he is aiming for. To mentally prepare to try can leave room for doubt. Try is soft, and opens us up to letting go. Well, I tried becomes an excuse to quit.

Doing is much more solid. I did it is a bold, solid statement. Even if it takes multiple attempts, I did it a dozen times before I got it done is still completion.

Even if, at the conclusion, you didn’t get the end result you intended, you did the thing. Failure still teaches. Yoda states this rather plainly, too. “The greatest teacher, failure is.” Often we learn more from failing than we do from succeeding.

How does that work? When I started working after college, over my career I have worked for a lot of different companies. In multiple instances, I watched them make mistakes and do things poorly, so I was unsurprised when they failed. It is my belief that I learned more about how to run a business and manage people by seeing how NOT to run a business and mange people. Those failures were excellent teachers.

Still, for a long time I continued to bounce from job to job. Often something about a given job just wasn’t the right fit for me. I recognized that I should probably be my own boss.

Over the years I played with numerous business ideas. I even started a small business for a multitude of small business consulting options. I can come up with a lot of reason why it didn’t work out, but the truth is – I lacked the tenacity.

Tenacity gets the job done.

Because I didn’t give my business the attention it deserved, it didn’t go anywhere. It didn’t fail, it just didn’t do anything. I had a job here and there, but I didn’t push. There was some attempts to promote and market myself, but in truth all I can say here is that I tried. And because that was all the energy I gave this idea, and I didn’t just DO for my business, it faded out.

It has now been six years since I began Pathwalking. This has caused some very positive changes in my life. Yet I am still not exactly where I want to be. Why? Tenacity. I try a lot, but I don’t do as frequently. This inaction keeps me where I am…not quite where I want to be.

I have the thought. I know how it should feel. That is where I get stuck. Sometimes this is self-sabotage, rooted in my long-time fear of abandonment due to success or failure. There are times I lack the necessary ambition to push when I know that I should. There are as many excuses as drops of water in the ocean, but the truth is I need more tenacity.

To that end, I am blogging here three times a week, and have redesigned the concept of the entire blog. Every other week I am writing up some sort of blog post to my author website, too. Still, I could be writing more than I am, and researching options to better promote and sell my novels. This is where I need to work on being more tenacious.

If I am going to walk the path to becoming a best-selling author, I know what I need to do.

No room for doubt, be tenacious!

Recently, I completed a 21 day course from Jen Sincero for changing a habit. As she points out, 80% of the people who pay for such a course do not complete it. Why? They do not use their tenacity to see it through.

Pathwalking to achieve conscious reality creation requires a lot of stick-to-itiveness, or rather, tenacity. Recognizing this, I can see what more I need to do to manifest my desires. I know where I need to focus my feelings with more willfulness.

I am writer. Which means that I need to work on everything that will hone my craft. Tenaciously.

What have you pursued tenaciously?

This is the three-hundred-seventeenth entry in my series. These weekly posts are ideas for, and my personal experiences with, walking along the path of life. I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world along the way.

Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-blog and share.

The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available here.

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