“Persistence prevails when all else fails”

Ray Kroc 1902 - 1984

Where across the course of your day today, could you persist just a little longer than you normally would, not through force, but through commitment to what you said mattered?

I received a call recently from a mate whom I had thought about earlier that same day.

He is an entertaining conversationalist, and he covered many aspects of his life as he discussed his holiday break with his family.

I was taught a brilliant listening tip early in my advertising career: imagine the speaker as the narrator of a movie.

As I listened to his travels, I could picture many of the adversities he had faced, and his simple remedy was to just soldier on.

He then explained how his year almost ended poorly financially, but didn’t.

Always curious for comeback and turnaround success stories, I asked, “Hang on, how did you turn it all around?”

He answered, “Persistence prevails when all else fails”

When I asked him where he heard that, he told me he remembered it as the slogan at the bottom of a commemorative photograph of an Olympic rowing team, which was on the wall of the first job he had in the early 90’s.

Persistence rarely feels heroic in the moment.

It feels repetitive, boring, slightly uncomfortable, and often goes unseen.

Most people don’t fail because they lack talent, intelligence, or opportunity; they fail because they stop.

They stop when enthusiasm fades, when progress slows or when the feedback isn’t flattering or the results aren’t immediate.

Here are 8 neuroscience-backed ways to build persistence; the brain sustains.

1. Shrink the goal to protect dopamine

The brain releases dopamine for progress, not completion.

Breaking work into small, clearly winnable steps creates frequent dopamine pulses, which reinforce persistence.

2. Attach identity, not outcome

When persistence is tied to identity, the brain treats effort as self-preservation rather than optional behaviour.

“I am someone who trains” persists longer than “I want to get fit.”

3. Reduce decision fatigue through structure

Persistence collapses when the prefrontal cortex is overloaded with choices.

Routines conserve neural energy, leaving more capacity for follow-through.

4. Train discomfort tolerance deliberately

The brain’s threat system often mislabels discomfort as danger.

Gradual exposure retrains the amygdala and increases persistence under stress

5. Regulate physiology before willpower

Willpower is unreliable when the nervous system is dysregulated.

Calm physiology restores access to persistence.

6. Use implementation intentions

The brain executes plans more reliably when actions are pre-decided.

“If X happens, I will do Y” bypasses hesitation.

7. Track effort, not outcomes

Outcome fixation increases anxiety and reduces persistence under uncertainty.

Effort tracking keeps dopamine flowing even when results lag.

8. Leverage social accountability

The brain evolved to persist more reliably when behaviour is witnessed.

Accountability increases follow-through via social threat and reward circuitry.

Persistence isn’t a personality trait; it’s a trainable neurological state.

When physiology, identity, structure, and reward systems are aligned, persistence stops feeling heroic and starts feeling inevitable.

Persistence isn’t stubbornness, and it’s not grinding blindly.

Persistence is the disciplined decision to keep showing up when novelty wears off and motivation goes quiet.

When I started coaching my youngest daughter, Madeline’s, soccer team 15 years ago, I asked the girls what team name we should have and why.

They shouted in unison, “The Honeybadgers!” Each of them had something to add to why, and these are some of the answers I remember from that time.

They thought the honey badger would be a really good mascot for our soccer team, because it never gives up, even when things are hard or scary.

“It’s not the biggest or the strongest animal, but it keeps trying and doesn’t back down.”

“That’s like us when we’re playing a tough game. Even if we’re tired or losing, we keep running, keep tackling, and keep playing together until the end.”

“The honey badger is brave, tough, and doesn’t quit, and that’s the kind of team we want to be.”

I inherited this team from a coach disillusioned by their losing streak, and they had been asking to be called the Honeybadgers for many years prior.

Any time I shouted “Come on, Honeybadgers!!” they lifted beyond belief, winning 3 of the 4 grand finals we reached. (The one we lost was when the girls reached drinking age, and our goalkeeper was more of a skunk than a honeybadger, after her sister’s 21st!)

While you’re thinking about that, think about this and have a Gr8 day!

Be well,
DL

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933)