Perseverance Factors: What Keeps Us Going?

cc photo by J. Delp

I recently had the opportunity to attend a couple of summer cross-country practices for my hometown high school team. My brother is the coach, and I wanted to see how things had changed since my running days. In addition, I was curious to see what could possibly motivate a high school kid to get up at six in the morning, during their summer vacation, to run.

I watched the kids run a few miles at an easy pace (one that would have been gut wrenching for me), and then proceed to run a series of two-hundred meter sprints, jogging two-hundred meters between each repeat. It was clear that there had to be a number of factors that would contribute to their ability to stick with such a grueling morning routine. Normal kids just don't do this to themselves. So, at the risk of writing another tired sports analogy, allow me to share a few ideas that I believe allow us to persevere ("us" being athletes, students in school, educators, or anyone who is in pursuit of a goal).

In education, we throw around the terms grit and growth mindset. We buy books, read research, and search for ways to motivate our students (or our staff). I am one of those people. I have read the books and articles with mixed motives--to apply in my work, but also to apply to my life. How do I manage what seems like a perpetually growing list of responsibilities without burning out? As I watched my brother's cross country team, I began to wonder if we make things too difficult. Off the top of my head, I could quickly arrive at five factors that contribute to our ability (or the ability of our students) to persevere in difficult situations. 

1. Purpose: why am I doing this? It seems that the answer to the age old student question of, "When will I ever use this?" really does matter. We all want to know that the work we do matters--that it has purpose. As educators, we shouldn't be dismissive of these questions, in fact, we should preemptively outline purpose for what students are learning. In addition, we should be honest. While some of you may frown, telling a student they need to learn something "because it is on the test," may simply be recognizing a current reality. While I certainly don't like it, standardized testing acts as a gate-keeper challenging coursework and higher education (especially for under-represented student populations and students from poverty). While we should avoid teaching to the test, we owe it to our students to provide them with every advantage to overcome obstacles, including standardized testing. That being said, hopefully the majority of our instruction has a much more evident, and meaningful, purpose.
2. Connection: how does this relate to me? Being connected to our work, whether as a student, a teacher, or in any other profession is a key element of perseverance. Connection is similar to purpose, but involves greater personal meaning -- it isn't as simple as "what's in it for me," but it is personal. Connection allows one to relate the purpose of an activity to potential benefits for the stakeholder. Does this activity allow me to improve myself, or help others? What will I learn from this? How will this help me grow as a person.
3. Goal: what do I want to accomplish, or achieve? Objectives and goals are important. Without a clear understanding of where we are going, it is pretty difficult to make a plan for getting there, or develop the will-power for making progress. In addition, goals allow us the opportunity to measure and track our progress. Are we getting better at something? Is our effort paying dividends?
4. Opportunity to struggle: is there an appropriate balance between struggle and success? Let’s be honest. Typically, the accomplishments in which we take the most pride involved some struggle. As humans, we like stories where the hero, or heroine, overcomes the odds in order to succeed. Most people I know, don’t describe running as something that is easy. However, there is pride in the struggle — in knowing that you did something challenging, stuck with it, and experienced success. This is why it is important to allow our students to experience challenge, frustration, and struggles. They need to understand what it takes, and how it feels, to get through times of difficulty. 
5. Visible success: am I getting better at this? Struggle can be a good thing, but repeated failure without any sign of progress will cause even the most dedicated among us to lose hope. As educators, it is important for us to help students track their progress and identify their successes — even the small wins. Don’t take this for granted. A student’s ability to identify the progress they are making is certainly not a given, and progress (even in moderation) sustains hope.

I’m not saying this is an all inclusive list, but when I think about the things that keep me going, I know each of these factors play a role in my ability to persevere. What else would you add to the list?