Persistent or Stubborn: Running Musings

If you succeed, you are persistent. When you fail, you are stubborn.  That’s the thin line between persistence & stubbornness. On a slight tangent, wonder why there never are persistent children but only stubborn ones. I guess society,  parents, teachers fail to recognize this as an asset for later in life. As a child, I was supposedly stubborn. Being stubborn, adds a lot of negative connotations. It could come across as adamant, aggressive, arrogant, bull headed, stupid.. With time one learns to refine these added dimensions. I hopefully have learnt to be persistent without coming across as aggressive, arrogant or adamant. Though I yet need to learn how to be persistent yet charming!

If I look upon myself, I would rate persistence as my one defining quality. Even though not being supremely gifted, I have yet gone on to achieve more thanks to being persistent. Persistence is not about blindly racing full ahead to your goal, unaware of what’s happening around you. Persistence in fact requires you measure your path. It requires you to zig-zag along your way, taking different turns, to succeed. In the long haul, it is highly unlikely you can predict your path to success.  The important thing is to believe in the goal, keep your eyes open to different opportunites and taking the right opportunities. Opportunities that might seem like a distraction, might in fact add value in terms of cash, experience, skills, brand, visibility, future opportunities etc. For eg., when we ran the contest to design MTV Roadies Official T-Shirt in 2010, little did we expect to receive the basket of opportunities in the form of brand partnerships, viral marketing & additional revenue streams in the future through similar events.

Persistence is about failing, learning how to deal with it, getting up and getting on with the job. Every champion sportsman has lost many more times than he has ever won. He just was able to deal with loss positively & improve himself to go and become the Champion. The key is to put your hand up each time you fail, work on it and make sure the same mistake never happens.

Persistence is about being focused yet open. You need to be focused on your goal no matter what. Yet, you need to be open to opportunities that may seem like a tangent but will help you get closer to achieve your goal.

Persistence is about being passionate yet detached. Passion is a quality without which you could never persist. However, being detached about failures & successes is what can keep you going in the long run. This year we were to be the merchandise partners for NH7 weekender. However, due to reasons unknown, they backed out at the last minute. By having been detached right from the start, nobody in our team felt disappointed about this setback. We recovered quickly are well on our path to build on Sunburn from last year to partner for the Airtel Delhi Marathon, Mumbai Marathon, India Bike Week and hopefully IndiaFest as well.

Persistence is about finding alternate interests. If you are going to be at it for a decade or so, it is important to build alternate interests which also keep you occupied. For me it is running, sailing and now dancing.

Persistence is about adapting & flexibility. There are many paths to the same goal. Persistence is about trying till you find the path that works for you. We initially started with the aim to cater to the international market. We switched to India when we found the cost of acquisition too high. It seems to be working so far..

Persistence is about enjoying the journey. If you don’t enjoy what you do and just working at it each day, you won’t survive for long.

Persistence is about believing in yourself. No matter what anybody says about the opportunity or your ability. If you believe in yourself you will find a path to succeed.

Persistence is about living in the present & planning for the future. If you live in the future, you are bound to be anxious. If you live in the present, you can act on your plans without fear & can take one step at a time each day.

A very important facet of being persistent is about knowing when to quit. Personally, I have twice given up halfway through an Olympic campaign. I rate both those decisions as amongst my best. The first time I did was an extremely difficult decision. We had spent a considerable amount of time & money training on government & personal funds. The whole indian yachting fraternity had placed their bets on us. We were being coached by a reputed international coach. My partner was a renowned and senior yachtsman having sailed several Olympics previously.Yet at the end of the first year of the campaign, I didn’t believe we were going to make it. For me it was a medal or nothing. Considering that I was making the call to quit, I knew I would face a lot of flak from the sailing administration. Post this, it would be extremely difficult getting my sailing career back on track. I would face charges of being a quitter, loser etc., forget being held responsible for wasting government funds. However, I felt that if we continued, we would spending even more than the first year & at the end of it have a very average performance at the Olympics. Even though it was my dream to participate in the Olympics, I didn’t want it this way. I did face a lot of flak & pressure. At  a point it seemed I would never sail competitively ever. However, in 3 months, I went on to win the selection trials for the Asian Championship & won a medal for India. Letting go of the first campaign allowed me to gain confidence in my own abilities as a sailor & trust my judgement. I had some of my best sailing moments post that decision.

The second time I quit my Olympic Campaign was much easier. I had been extremely disappointed with my 5th from the Asian Games in 2006. I realized that I would never be satisfied by just competing in an Olympics. I realized I personally didn’t have the talent or resources to medal at the next Olympics. I knew I had to move on and start work on the next stage of my life as an Entrepreneur. This I rate as the best decision ever made by me. The decision to not fight a losing battle. 

End of the day, persistence or stubbornness is all about which side of the line you finally end up!