Study how the world's greatest achievers practice persistence. Champion cyclist Lance Armstrong was stricken with cancer while a young man. Forced off his bike and onto the sidelines was not an option he was willing to accept. Armstrong took charge of his illness and aggressively fought for his life. That would have been an accomplishment in itself, but he went on to race professionally again and win. Learning persistence means understanding that challenges will arise, sometimes suddenly and devastating in nature, and taking charge of your destiny regardless of the obstacles.
Take action. If you always have the end game in mind and haven't envisioned the actionable steps for reaching your goal, it will become too big for you to handle. Employ what motivational coach Susan Kennedy calls "MicroMOVEments." Taking small steps over time instead of tackling the whole undertaking at once is a reasonable way to learn persistence. List your to-do's in a notebook, along with pertinent data such as phone numbers, dates and names. During those times when your energy is flagging, spend it in research and daydreaming. Insights are sparked when you are still and contemplative, and is time no less valuable than those hours spent pushing through to your goals.
Give up. Sometimes the best thing to do when learning persistence is to recognize when to stop do something. By giving up a losing game, you're opening the door for something better to enter. Bill Gates and Paul Allen, co-founders of Microsoft, started a lesser-known company in the early 1970s called Traf-O-Data. A resounding failure, Traf-O-Data became what Allen called his "favorite mistake. They gave up one venture and with all of the knowledge garnered from that experience went on to exceed even their own expectations with Microsoft. It's important to note that giving up does not mean throwing in the towel. It means devising a new way to reach a cherished goal.