Sometimes, “persistence” gets a bad rap because it’s coupled with “annoyance”. As in, a “persistent salesperson” who refuses to consensually leave you alone, until you make that choice to walk away or put down the phone. It’s true depending who you are and which perspective you’re experiencing, aggravating annoyance may be another’s pleasant persistence.

We, meaning humans in many societies, are taught to pursue their dreams and never give up. That’s a sound general message, but lacks the detail to inform you when there are things worth quitting so that you’re freed up to do something you prefer more.

Persistence is an art and science, and while there’ll always be subjective frames of reference, some people are more pleasantly persistent than others. One modern example is Mike Belmont aka M dot Strange, who labored for over 3 years to create his wild animation masterpiece, We Are the Strange:

He’s created something memorably unique on a claimed budget of US$20,000, which has left a strong artistic impression on me which will never leave. You can learn from his pleasant persistence in catching your dreams.

“Pleasant” doesn’t mean “mild or boring”; it comes from “pleasurable”, denoting enjoyment. Even when adversity dogs you, and it will. And “persistence” is all about following up and continuing. As I like to say, it’s easy to claim, but hard to sustain.

Nagging someone for a job then acting passive-aggressive when you don’t get it isn’t pleasant persistence. Nor is being abusive to yourself and venting jealousy when your demo CD (or MP3 these days) gets rejected by numerous record labels. (Has happened to me!) They may have it wrong, but you don’t need to be a jerk. Prove your greatness without loitering in dead ends.

So, finding alternative routes and different pathways is pleasant persistence. One door may be locked, another door may be broken, and yet another may not even exist (altho it looked that way as you approached it from afar), but you may learn to build a new door. Metaphorically speaking.

You don’t have to be sneaky or deceptive about it, either: plenty of opportunities exist in the open. Quiet time to yourself can make those doors appear where they were all along…