Youth ACHIEVEMENT FOUNDATION

CHARACTER TALK

Perseverance

Introduction

Definition – holding to a course of action, belief or purpose without giving in; steadfastness

Mentor Student Discussion

• Hallmarks for perseverance
• Discipline – Only persons who have mastered self-control have the ability to work through difficult and challenges times
• Strong willed
• Confidence
   
• Perseverance is the key to scientific research
• If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again
• We fail, and we fail, until finally we succeed
   
• Perseverance is good because
• Nothing good comes easy
• Perseverance is like distance running, the more you practice the better you get
• No one ever won a race by quitting
• Difficult assignments do not go away. We either complete them or we fail
• Hard work brings a special type of satisfaction
• Nothing good comes easy
• If it were easy, everybody would do it
• Winners never quit and quitters never win.
• There is no shame in loosing, if you did your best
   
• Students and mentors should discuss some personal examples where perseverance paid off
• Some good examples could include:
• Beating someone in sports after they had beaten you
• Getting a good grade after extra study
• Sticking with a difficult job and finding out that it was easier than we thought it would be
   
• Students and mentors should discuss some personal examples where quitting or not trying hurt them
• Did you ever do poorly on a test after not studying for it?
• Did you ever regret not starting a paper sooner?
   
• Student and mentors should identify two or three specific areas where they can practice Perseverance

Group Discussion

• What is perseverance and why is it valuable?
• PD should ask for some examples of when perseverance paid off

Summary

• Nothing worthwhile in life is easy, but few things are as hard as we fear. If we have the discipline to preserver by sticking to our work we will find ourselves being very successful.
• Take away line: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.