Intellectual Perseverance

Intellectual Perseverance is ones ability to work through problems despite all the obstacles challenging them throughout, without giving up. Although situations may present themselves as unclear a person is able to sort through the confusion and questions to achieve an understanding and an achievement.

In other words when a person is faced with obstacles in life that are not physical but mental they are able to push through and succeed no matter what obstacles get into their way. As a student I can relate to this as I am currently facing the many challenges of becoming a mom for the first time in the middle of my second graduate course, working a full time job with frequent overtime demands, being a full time wife, and tending to our financials, house as well as our animals. All of these things start to create weight or stress that feels unbearable at times and I start to find the urge to just give up.  However I persevere through, as I know in the end I will succeed as long as I can find an understanding to all the chaos leading up to completing my ultimate goal of becoming a successful leader and role model.

 Being a successful leader is being able to intellectually persevere through not only one’s personal daily stresses but the stresses of an organization’s as well. To persevere one will need to look at each obstacle in question and think critically before coming to an ultimate conclusion. First ask the questions needed to better understand the obstacle at hand. Second try and answer the questions posed after careful reasoning. Third once questions have been answered one must believe the results in order to persevere. If the results are not believable then one must go back and reason the answer until they can be fully believed. Once these three questions have been answered successfully then you have completed a critical thought and come to a rational conclusion that can be backed up, as you believe in your answers.

For example I am 9 months pregnant and can go into labor at any time. I am facing many aches and pains that go along with pregnancy with a few complications along the way. I am currently the Eastern Region Financial Aid Counselor at Embry-Riddle with over 1,600 students depending on me to tend to their financial aid needs. January is our busiest time and we are also undergoing the conversion of a brand new software system that has had many hiccups along the way. My husband works 60 plus hours a week so I find myself faced with the challenges of taking care of our financials, house, animals and many other obstacles. With all these challenges coming against me I am still persevering through them. I have had many breakdowns where I felt like I cannot go on however I know to succeed you must put your blood sweat and tears into it.  I have found understanding in my ultimate goals of becoming a successful leader and I know how I will achieve them, and that is by persevering through these difficult times.