Divining Your David: How to Tap into Your Inner Underdog. pt. 2 of 4 - Perseverance

Last time we examined how underdogs are fully prepared for their lifetime opportunity. You can read it here: Part 1 - Preparation. This time we'll explore the underdog's ability to stay the course to reach that opportunity through . . .

Perseverance - Think about your favorite underdog (either from part 1, or on your own).  I'll use Luke Skywalker.  Luke had many setbacks, failures, discouragements, and fought seemingly insurmountable odds.  However, not once did he question whether he would finish his training and battle Darth Vader again.  Perseverance is not just the ability to keep going when it's tough (we'll examine that in part 3).  Perseverance is the dogged perspective that the path ahead leads to one thing: the life-changing encounter. Luke understood that every step on his path would lead to an encounter with Darth Vader. Everything he did increased his skills and abilities for that one opportunity . . . That one chance . . . That one battle.

Let's look back to our case study of the once and future king, David.

Once David decided he would face Goliath, nothing would sway his mind. He knew that any circumstance that befell him would not deter him from facing the giant.

King Saul let David use his armor for the showdown. David, a shepherd, probably never had put on armor before. As we learned in part 1, he fought a lion and bear, without armor, and was victorious.  When David begins to equip himself for a real battle, against a 9 foot armed man, he feels awkward and cumbersome. I Sam. 17:39.  He even says that he's not used to the armor and will not use it! That could be the beginning of discouragement, or even a valid reason to quit!

This does not deter David though.  Even though he is going to fight a heavily armed man, not having armor of his own does not dissuade him! He still knows he is going to fight Goliath.

If we are going to fight and win our unlikely battles, we must know that we are going to fight them. We cannot have a contingency plan and we cannot let limited resources hinder us. We cannot allow any circumstance, failure, or setback to blur our vision for our ultimate battle.

We must have Perseverance: "a steady persistence in a course of action."