Perseverance is one of those words I always need to think twice about when spelling it. Which is it?

  • Preseverance,
  • Perseverance, or
  • Perservence

The beginning and middle get confusing.

As I was struggling with “perseverance” the other day, my spelling skirmish struck me with the value of the differences. In my confusion, clarity glimmered. To persevere, we need to:

  • Preserve certain principles
  • Sever certain ties
  • Serve in all we do

Perseverance

All three variations deliver a punch to what perseverance really means.

Preserve.

When times get tough, we need center ourselves and lean into our soul for strength and power. There are principles, philosophies, and values that keep us going through the years, and we need to re-engage them. Tough times happen. We need to preserve our core beliefs no matter what is thrown our way.

Sever.

The other side of this is our need to cut-off things that are holding us back. This isn’t divorce or abandonment. It is about releasing the thoughts that keep us bound up. It is about keeping the people at a distance who may be distracting us. It is about unloading past burdens holding us back from our new, meaningful life adventures.

Serve.

When we engage a community, we all grow. A servant leader mindset empowers us and changes more lives than we may know. Serving strengthens our spirit and lifts our mindset to focus on what matters.

Perseverance is about struggle, even in its spelling. Most importantly, perseverance is about preserving our core, severing what is unimportant, and serving in our community.

Perseverance. No matter how we spell it, we learn.

How do you spell perseverance in your life challenges and successes?