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Practicing Perseverance
Martin Luther was known to have a deeply contemplative personality who got depressed rather easily. One morning his wife came down dressed in black with a mourner's veil on. Martin Luther, surprised, asked, "Who is dead?" She replied,"God, from the way you are acting. "
Some view perseverance as what you do while waiting for the hearse; others say that it's what you do while waiting for the bandwagon. A positive attitude is not being pollyanna, for that is generally escapism—like the ostrich who sticks his head in the sand. We have a choice as to whether we will be positive or negative about our situation. We are not victims, despite what the talk show hosts and pop psychologists want us to think.
We have the freedom to choose our attitude. Frankl elegantly introduced us to the concept that we may not be able to change our circumstances, but we can have the freedom to control our attitude. He not only understood, but exemplified perseverance. He didn’t do a doctoral dissertation on the subject --- he lived its truth.
What wall have you hit? How will your attitude change the outcome?
