Character Development: Resilience And Res. Affirmations

In Episode 3 of our Character Strengths Affirmation Series, we explore the strength of perseverance. Together, we’ll delve into what it means to keep going when the path gets tough, to rise after setbacks, and to face challenges with courage and resolve. This episode invites you to reflect on the role perseverance plays in achieving goals, building resilience, and fostering growth. Through thought-provoking insights and affirmations, we’ll celebrate the strength it takes to stay committed to our journey and honor the small steps that lead to great progress.

With love,
Hannah

Transcript

In a world that often focuses so much on what we lack,

It's easy to overlook the incredible internal strengths that each of us possess.

Grounded in ancient philosophy and modern science,

This series invites you to reconnect with the innate strengths that make you who you are,

Promoting balance and harmony in everyday life.

Whether you're looking to boost your confidence,

Overcome negative self-talk,

Deepen your relationships,

Or simply invite a greater sense of well-being,

My hope is that this series offers a practical and uplifting path to personal growth.

Hello beautiful community and welcome to our character strengths affirmation series.

Each session we explore one of the 24 character strengths identified by positive psychology,

All of which fall under the virtues of courage,

Humanity,

Wisdom,

Justice,

Temperance,

Or transcendence.

These strengths and virtues are universal and they form the foundation of our best selves.

If you haven't already,

I recommend you check out the intro episode which will provide you with background on what to expect from this series.

So the first virtue that we've been diving into is courage,

Which the Values in Action or VIA Institute defines as the internal force that drives action in the face of fear or opposition,

Allowing us to exercise our free will and face adversity.

There are four character strengths that fall under courage and they include bravery and honesty,

Perseverance and zest.

In the last two episodes we covered bravery and then honesty and in today's session we will be focusing on perseverance and perseverance affirmations.

If I'm being honest,

I am a bit biased toward this character strength as I have seen the hugely important role that it has played in my own life as well as those I've worked with in the mental health field.

I just want to put that out there right in the beginning,

Acknowledge my biases.

I love this character strength.

I think that it is one of the most essential.

They're all so important,

You know,

Like they're all,

They're all important.

It's hard to put them on a hierarchy but perseverance,

Especially in the face of hardship,

Can just be so necessary.

It's just,

It's really what keeps you going.

Perseverance is more than just pushing through tough times.

It's the steady force that keeps us moving forward when life tries to pull us back.

It involves resilience,

Consistency and some kind of goal,

Meaning or purpose that we're working towards.

In a world that often celebrates quick fixes and immediate gratification,

The ability to stick with something,

Especially when it's hard,

Is quite frankly nothing short of extraordinary.

Perseverance teaches us that success isn't about never failing.

It's about continuing to try and to learn and to grow even when success feels out of reach.

In fact,

It's about reorienting our definition of success to be geared around our approach and our method rather than our attachment to an outcome.

It's this persistent effort,

This unwavering commitment to keep going that ultimately allows us to overcome hardships and leads us to breakthroughs that we're all seeking.

So as you've learned by now,

My motto is be well do good.

Sometimes I add to this by saying and have faith.

Whether this is faith in a higher power or faith in the process of perseverance toward a greater purpose.

I think Frederick Nietzsche summed up perseverance perfectly when he said,

He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.

I don't know if you can talk about perseverance without at some point bringing up Viktor Frankl.

Viktor Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist and psychologist and also a Holocaust survivor and he wrote the book Man's Search for Meaning.

He wrote several books,

But that one is probably the most notorious and infamous and for good reason.

It's a very,

Very powerful read.

The first part is about his experience in the Holocaust.

And he makes a point to say,

Listen,

I'm not trying to freak anybody out.

You know,

There's enough books about the atrocities of what happened.

I'm trying to tell you about my relationship to what happened and dig into that with some stories and some examples.

And then the second half is about his development of logotherapy,

Which is a type of therapy that helps people establish that sense of meaning from what they've experienced.

He quotes that Nietzsche quote several times throughout the book and adds to it with one of the best quotes I think I've ever read.

He says,

Everything can be taken from a man,

But one thing,

The last of the human freedoms,

To choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances,

To choose one's own way.

Now,

I think it takes somebody who has really suffered to have the credibility to say something like that.

To say,

You know,

You can lose everything.

You can have all human dignity stripped from you and still have the courage to choose how you're going to feel about the moment.

Frankel believed that meaning in life comes from three main sources.

One of them might be work.

This is where meaning is found in our capacity to create or,

Or contribute to society in some meaningful way.

The second way is through love and in our relationships.

You know,

I,

I hope that all of us listening,

Know the experience of sitting around with your friends or with your family,

And everybody's just laughing and it gives you this feeling like everything is okay.

It's all good.

You know,

Even if things are maybe tough in life,

Even if maybe we're struggling a bit,

I can look into the eyes of a lover or look into the eyes of a dear friend and just be so full by the simple fact that we are alive together and get to share this experience together.

The third source of meaning is the sense of purpose that we get from finding the courage within ourself to face adversity.

And then,

As I said earlier,

Really,

As he said,

And as I quoted,

To choose the attitude that we want to have in that moment.

This is perseverance.

This is a test of our character.

And getting to say,

You know,

I'm,

I'm going through something hard,

And I'm not going to let it be a reason for me to lose my sense of humanity.

Let me say,

No,

I'm going to,

I'm going to dig my feet in the sand and say,

All I have left is,

Is my mind.

And my free will is my own grip on my own consciousness.

And if it's the last thing I do,

I'm going to make it something valuable.

I'm going to simmer in my own virtue.

And can I just say that when we choose to persevere,

When we choose to not let someone turn us into someone that we're not,

And instead take responsibility for who and how we show up in the world,

The reward is the relationship that we cultivate with ourselves,

The healthy pride that we get to take in who and how we are.

I think that maybe one of the greatest ailments plaguing humanity,

If I can be so bold as to make a claim like that is cognitive dissonance,

Which is essentially when our actions don't align with our thoughts,

Or when the way that we behave doesn't align with the way that we think that we would have behaved in a particular set of circumstances.

And I mean,

I don't know if,

If an example is popping up for you from your life when you've done this,

I certainly know that I have experienced this.

And it'll really make you question everything about yourself.

It'll really get you to start from ground zero and have to build your way up if you have the courage to do so.

You know,

If you don't get defensive or build up walls,

Or avoid and shield yourself from the truth.

And we can avoid all of that by having the perseverance in the moment to choose who we want to be.

There's the kind of perseverance that gets us to climb mountains.

And there's the kind of perseverance that gets us to look in the mirror.

And I want us to have both of those things,

You know,

I don't know which one takes more courage.

I'll leave that for you to decide.

What I will say is let's not wait until we can't look ourselves in the eye.

Let's be proactive.

Let's have the courage to choose the attitude that we want to have in the daily hiccups that we experience.

Somebody cuts you off in traffic,

How are you going to feel about it?

Somebody mistreats you?

What are you going to turn into as a result of that?

Something happens at work that doesn't go well.

What mentality are you going to choose?

Are you going to react or are you going to respond?

Anyway,

I don't know what just happened the last like five or ten minutes.

I just blacked out and started yapping and talking about my feelings.

So thank you for your patience.

We will now resume the regular structure of these episodes.

As we've talked about with any of these character strengths and virtues they operate between two vices.

So on the one end,

Perseverance when it becomes excessive can lead to stubbornness and rigidity.

This happens when we refuse to adapt,

When we heed warning signs,

Or when we fail to acknowledge when a goal is no longer serving our well-being.

Over commitment can cause burnout or harm our relationships if we prioritize a singular pursuit above all else and lose sight of the bigger picture.

In contrast,

On the other side,

A lack of perseverance manifests as giving up too easily or failing to follow through.

This can result from a fear of failure,

Lack of motivation,

Or an aversion to discomfort.

Without perseverance,

Potential remains unrealized and goals are abandoned at the first sight of difficulty.

Balance involves assessing when to push forward and when to pivot or rest.

It means staying committed while allowing room for flexibility and recognizing when a goal is worth pursuing or when the lesson and the growth is in letting go.

Balanced perseverance honors both our drive and our limits,

Ensuring sustainable growth.

One of the things that I have yet to talk about that I think is essential to understanding development is the ways in which each of these character strengths and each of these virtues are interrelated,

Meaning that we can utilize one character strength to strengthen or rein in one of the others.

For me,

The reason I thought of this is because for me when it comes to perseverance,

I have had to really check myself and practice a lot of humility.

Humility is a character strength that we have yet to get to if you're doing this in order,

But it is,

Humility has been probably one of my greatest teachers.

I'm looking forward to getting that strength because I'm sure that I will out myself as having struggled with it.

But that has been one that when it comes to perseverance,

I've had to really be honest with myself about what are my limits?

In what ways am I getting attached to some outcome that I need to let go of and surrender?

And to me,

It's just a great example of how I can utilize one strength to navigate another.

And as I said in the first episode,

The VIA Institute,

Which is a research institute,

On their website they do have a completely free survey that you can take.

It takes like 15 minutes and it will give you your character strengths in order and it will give you your top five.

So I a lot of times will use my top five to work on some of the other ones.

It's not necessary at all.

Like I said,

It's completely free and as I've said before,

I am in no way affiliated with the VIA Institute.

I'm just a fan and think that it's a great resource.

Before we begin,

We'll have ourselves a little blessing to set our intention.

May we have the strength to keep moving forward,

Even when the path is steep and the journey is long.

May we pace ourselves.

May we find within ourselves the resilience to rise after every fall,

Knowing that each fall is building momentum to the next great rise.

May we embrace the challenges that come our way,

Using them as opportunities to cultivate our inner resolve and determination.

May our goals be clear,

Our efforts unwavering,

And our spirits steadfast as we pursue our dreams.

May we trust that with patience and persistence we can overcome any obstacle and achieve our highest aspirations.

And may our perseverance inspire others to find their own strength in moments of doubt.

May our efforts ripple outward,

Encouraging those around us.

I will read each statement twice,

Pausing in between to give you a chance to repeat them out loud to yourself,

And I do recommend saying them out loud.

The statements that are easy to embrace,

Savor them,

Appreciate them,

Stand like a mountain in their truth.

And then the statements that feel not so good,

That feel uncomfortable or foreign,

Go ahead and say them anyway.

This is where we are doing the work,

Rewiring those neural networks.

This is also where we gain insight into unhealed wounds,

Limiting beliefs and ingrained biases and judgments toward ourselves or toward a particular way of being.

It's great material for journaling or discussing with a counselor or trusted friend,

Maybe even someone doing the series with you.

Whether you're just waking up,

Walking your dog,

On your commute,

Or getting ready for bed,

I hope these affirmations serve your deepest,

Greatest,

Highest self.

And with that,

Let's get started.

I persevere.

I persevere.

I am a determined person.

I am a determined person.

Resistance only serves to refine me.

Resistance only serves to refine me.

My determination drives me to see things through to the end.

My determination drives me to see things through to the end.

I am committed to achieving my goals.

I am committed to achieving my goals.

I embrace every obstacle as an opportunity for growth.

I embrace every obstacle as an opportunity for growth.

My consistency helps me recover quickly from setbacks.

My consistency helps me recover quickly from setbacks.

My consistency helps me recover quickly from setbacks.

I do what I do for something greater than myself.

I do what I do for something greater than myself.

I trust in my ability to overcome difficulties.

I trust in my ability to overcome difficulties.

I am consistent and goal-oriented.

I am consistent and goal-oriented.

I honor my commitment to myself by not giving up.

I honor my commitment to myself by not giving up.

My perseverance is a testament to my passion and dedication.

My perseverance is a testament to my passion and dedication.

I have the patience to work steadily toward my goals.

I have the patience to work steadily toward my goals.

I am proud of my ability to finish what I started.

I am proud of my ability to finish what I started.

I am inspired by those around me to keep pushing forward.

I am inspired by those around me to keep pushing forward.

As always,

Thank you so much for being here and for sharing in the intention to work on ourselves so that we can be better for ourselves,

So that we can be better for the people that we love,

And the people that we come into contact with,

So that we can be better for humanity as a whole,

And better for the world at large.

May we be well so that we can do good.

Go forth with peace and many,

Many,

Many,

Many,

Many,

Many,

Many blessings.

And I will see you next time.

Bye.

Reviews

Thank you Hannah! your words are like ink filling my pen as I sit here writing to a friend that has been in and out of hospital for the last few months....There are many key phrases that you mention to spark inspiration
, so today , I am truly grateful for your wisdom and this time spent listening to your talk. Namaste

Excellent dive into a powerful strength to stay true to what is meaningful. As stated in the talk, the illusion of the “quick fix” can cause one to give up when things get rough, and the cost of giving up oneself is dire.