Why does persistence matter?
In colonial systems we have been taught that persistence is a personal character trait associated with things like will, grit, and perseverance.
Persisting in a healthy way isn’t just about enduring through difficult circumstances.
Persisting in a healthy way is about building resiliency through practices that help you recover from stress.
- LEXICON
Stress
Physiological, emotional, and behavioral responses to stressors.
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What does understanding persistence help you do?
Understanding, and being able to make intentional choices, about whether to persist is critical to an ILR practice that supports your wellbeing.
While you often cannot control external conditions, you can choose when to STOP or when to PERSIST, and what boundaries you will set in making those choices.
Exercising agency over your exposure to stress and harm is how you sustain your ILR practice and prevent burnout.
When should you stop persisting as an ILR practitioner?
If the stress, harm, or other negative impacts of persisting emerging from your ILR practice are greater than the joy, healing, and other positive impacts then you should consider NOT persisting.
Not persisting isn’t the same as giving up.
Sometimes not persisting is recognizing the need for change.
Sometimes creating change is about stopping what you are doing even if you don’t know what to do instead.
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Harm
When the negative impacts on your wellbeing are greater than your capacity to recover.
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The Persistence Project emerged from a five-day gathering convened in February 2020 at the University of Victoria, British Columbia titled “Exploring Innovative and Successful Adult Language Learning Methods in Canadian & US Indigenous Communities”.
The information, ideas, and analysis from the gathering were summarized in a short film, and a parallel report, both titled Growing the Fire Within.
- LEXICON
Persistence
Continuing despite of difficulty.
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