4 Reasons You Should Be More Tenacious

It was the 2015 NBA Finals – game 3. Cleveland Cavaliers backup point guard Mathew Dellavedova would not quit. He played 90 feet of defense every possession, held NBA MVP Stephen Curry to 10-20 shooting with 6 turnovers, and dove on the floor for loose balls a minimum of 7 times. Dellavedova was undrafted out of college, is under-sized and under-skilled, but he had something other players on the court didn’t – tenacity.

Being 5 feet 7 inches tall (really 5'6), I know a lot about being tenacious. Early in my life, my size was seen as a disadvantage, but eventually, my persistence and tenacity paid off. I ended up being captain on the varsity football team and ended up excelling in golf, playing in high school and eventually in college.  

But the truth is, tenacity isn’t just about the little guy, the underdog, or the overlooked. It’s not just about being carried off the field while everyone is cheering your name… “Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!”

Being persistent, passionate, and never giving up is a skill that everyone has the capability of developing, but it seems that few actually have. Maybe it’s because not everyone cares enough to be tenacious? Maybe it’s because apathy has set in and people are fooled into believing that “good enough” is in fact, good enough.

Either way, when tenacity is at play, miraculous things happen. People achieve things for themselves and their company that they never dreamed they could do. Need some motivation to trigger your tenacity? Here are the top 4 reasons you should be more tenacious:

1.  Higher Levels of Confidence. Every time you quit something or don’t do your best, whether the task is too difficult or you just lose interest, you lose confidence. Confidence is built when you practice, learn, and succeed. Stick things out, complete them well, and your confidence will rise.
2. Increased Indispensability. Since tenacity is a difficult skill to train, when organizations find tenacious people, they value those employees. These employees move up quicker, are compensated better, and are rarely put on the chopping block (even during hard times). Be the person who learns new skills and does what it takes to win. 
3. Widely Earned Respect. Early on in my career, a mentor reminded me that respect is earned. Leaders are defined by their actions, not their title. Even if you aren’t a manager, you can be perceived as a leader. People immediately gravitate to and respect people who don’t give up and are relentless in their pursuit of success – even if they don’t “win” every time.
4. Stronger Likelihood of Success. It’s a fact. If you keep at something long enough, hard enough and give it your all, your chances of succeeding increase. If there comes a time when changing paths becomes a requirement don't look at yourself as a failure. Failure truly only occurs when you stop trying and caring regardless of the task.

Tenacity is a powerful human characteristic that will improve your life and change your trajectory. Tenacious people always find a way. Make the conscious decision every single day to be more tenacious.

Speaking of being tenacious – are a manager or leader of a team in your organization?

How are your people’s professional skills? Could they use a polish?

Are you still waiting for your company put some sort of skill training in place?

Does your training department take forever to make and deliver training?

If so, now is the perfect time to get tenacious and take training your team into your own hands with LearnLoft. LearnLoft allows you to train, track and measure your team FOR FREE. We have professional skills content or you can create your own without the hassle of authoring tools or any prior experience. The best part? It’s mobile, social, collaborative and cloud-based.