Persistence (Finally) Pays

Bryn Lennon, Getty Images

Mick Rogers - 2014 TDF Stage 16 
Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon

At the end of stage 11 in this year's Tour de France, Michael Rogers' advice to Andrew Talansky was "persistence wins all races."

Mick Rogers knows a thing or two about adversity.  In 2007 he was thought of as a GC contender when he rode for T Mobile, but crashed out of the Tour with a broken collar bone.  Immediately thereafter a protracted battle with mononucleosis made him barely able to ride his bike for more than a year.  Late last year, with his form having returned, he tested positive for clenbuterol after winning a race in Japan. He was suspended by the UCI but steadfastly maintained his innocence. He was able to prove to the governing body that the positive test was the result of eating contaminated meat while competing in China, where it is commonly used in agriculture.  He was exonerated this Spring and has gone on to win two stages at the Giro d'Italia.

Mick has as been persistently working for a stage win at the Tour de France for more than a decade and it has always eluded him. He is such a classy guy and someone that I've always loved to watch compete. Today it paid off in spades.  Mick threw caution to the wind and rode flat out down a dangerous mountain to the finish against Tommy Voeckler and three others.  In his post-race interview he said:

On that descent ... I just said I've been in this position too many times not to win. [Either]  I'm going to crash or I'm going to win.

He won.  It was beautiful. I hope Andy Talansky was watching from his couch at home while he recovers.

True Grit and the Tour de France

Andy Talansk off the bike in the stage 7 sprint finish

Every summer I have a fight with myself that I predictably lose.  The ever-present doping scandels and scoundrels of professional cycling make me vow to stop watching.  Then the Tour de France begins and I cave in like a house of cards.

Andrrew Talansky breathed a giant breath of life back into US hopes in European pro peloton when this promising young American stood on the top step of the podium last month as the winner of the Criterium du Dauphine. Winners of the Dauphine are always competitive at the Tour, and frequently gone on to win it.  Andy had horrific crashes in stages 7 and 8 which forced him to abandon the race after stage 11.

It was pretty evident early in stage 11 that Andy was in rough shape. He fell off the back of the peloton and was losing time to the leaders at an alarming rate. He was in very real danger of being eliminated from the race for finishing more than 8% behind the stage winner. His earlier crashes had left with with massive amounts of road rash and severe back pain. At one point in stage 11 the pain was so bad that he had to get off the bike and sit on a guard rail for 4 minutes. At that point he had 40 miles left in the race. French TV cameras were hovering like vultures and everyone was certain that he would abandon. To my amazement he climbed back on the bike and finished the stage. Somehow, he found the inner strength to finish the stage and make the time cut.

Andy knew at that point that he hopes for any positive outcome in the race were completely blown.  But he finished the stage--even though it was all alone out there and ended up more than 30 minutes behind the leaders and dead last. It was a clinic in courage, heart and perseverance. It reminded me of one of my favorite John Wayne movies as a kid: True Grit.

At the end of the race another cycling champion talked to the race commentator and used the opportunity to speak metaphorically to Andy Talansky (who was then still out there suffering alone on the road):

"My advice is: persistence wins all races." - Michael Rogers

Maybe Mick Rogers was speaking to Andy.  Probably he was speaking to the rest of us as well.

Andy Talansky: Courage and True Grit

Persistence vs. Perseverance

"The Subway" in Zion National Park - 2006
Nothing exemplifies the power of persistence like the slot canyons of the Southwest.
"The Subway" is a very hard hike, but undoubtedly my favorite. This place makes you feel small and insignificant as you stand below 800 foot cliffs that rise up vertically on both sides. 

My last post (here) about beginner's luck has me thinking about persistence as useful remedy for life's challenges. In doing so I came across a fantastic talk by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin on perseverance.* To make things potentially more confusing is the related word perseveration.** Perseverance is often considered to be synonym of persistence; perseveration is a derivative of it. But there are very important differences between these words, and they have me thinking about persistence vs. perseverance in particular.   

Since it's very easy to confuse the terminology, here are the formal definitions:

Persistence: the act of persisting; enduring tenaciously.
Perseverance: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.
Perseveration: Uncontrollable repetition of a particular response, such as a word, phrase, or gesture, despite the absence or cessation of a stimulus, usually caused by brain injury or other organic disorder.

Since perseveration is a mental illness, it's differentiation from persistence and perseverance is less nuanced. Not so with the differences between persistence and perseverance.  Perseverance can be thought of as persistence in a noble or just cause in spite of hardship or opposition. Where perseverance has connotations of things noble and good, persistence has connotations which are more mechanical and less principled. While persistence isn't necessarily always bad, perseverance is almost always good. 

I've seen the following quote used to exemplify the fact that persistence is not always a good thing.

Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results.

This quote is usually misattributed to Albert Einstein (or Benjamin Franklin, or Mark Twain). It actually comes from the 1981 Basic Text of Narcotics Anonymous. In his Psychology Today article (here), Ryan Howe, PhD shows that although the aphorism is clever, it is a lousy definition for insanity. The idea does, however, illustrate that persistence in an of itself is not necessarily enough. Dr. Howe's article quotes another blogger who points out that sometimes wisdom dictates that we do exactly what would otherwise seem to be insane.

Sometimes doing the same thing a second time when it hasn’t worked the first is indeed just foolish. But sometimes it’s shrewd. Wisdom consists, in part, in knowing the difference. 

I do not believe that persistence alone will be enough to see us through the tempests of life and safely into the harbor--even when guided by wisdom. The counsel of God's prophets would argue that it will require perseverance. Perseverance requires faith and hope. Paul didn't actually use the word perservere when he was telling the Philippians to hold fast, but that's what he was talking about (Philippians 1:27-28).  Elder Wirthlin taught:

I bear testimony that perseverance is essential to us in learning and living the principles of the gospel and that it will determine our progress as we strive to reach exaltation. 

With all the innuendo and subtleties that differentiate perseveration, persistence and perseverance, here's what I've taken away:

1. Mental illness or neurological disease drive us to repeatedly speak or act with nothing good coming of it. 
2. Wisdom dictates when we should be persistent and receive it's many rewards. 
3. Faith and hope enable us to persevere in remaining true to God and our covenants despite hardship, opposition or temptation. 
4. Only perseverance brings eternal rewards.

Left Fork of North Creek, Zion National Park - 2005
Persistence: a small stream within a stream cuts a channel into the bedrock.
It's neither good nor bad--just amazing.

_____
* This topic has also been addressed by others including the Apostle Paul (see Ephesians 6:18), Joseph Smith Jr., James E. Faust and David A. Bednar.
** Read this article from Psychology Today for a great comparison of perseverance with perseveration. 

Finding Gold: Beginner's Luck

The St. Albans coin hoard

I've had a soft spot for stories about Roman coin hoards for a long time (here and here for my old posts; links to this story here and here).  I often thought about how awesome it would be to uncover a two thousand year-old coin. I can't fathom the thrill of finding the life's savings of a Roman Legionary carefully stashed away before he suited up to battle hoards of barbarians that simply weren't buying into the Pax Romana.  The story behind the St Albans coin hoard has to be one of the most amazing.

In October 2012, a would-be treasure hunter from St. Albans, UK took the plunge and bought a beginner's metal detector.  After watching a couple of videos on You Tube, Wesley Carrington headed for the woods near his home about 20 miles north of central London.  His first 20 minutes of treasure hunting rewarded him with a spoon and half-penny.  When his metal-detector went off a third time, he dug down 7 inches to find a gold coin with a roman figure. By the time darkness fell, he had found 55 gold solidi dating back to the late 4th century AD (Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, Theodosius, Arcadius and Honorius). He had no idea what he'd found, so paid a visit to a local coin shop.  The owner was absolutely 'gobsmacked' and thought it a joke.  Real experts, on returning to the site of his find, found 104 additional coins in what is one of the largest coin hoards ever found in the UK.  The coins are estimated to be worth $156,000.

This story is the sine qua non of beginners luck. Such stories always strike a cord with commoners as we realize 'that could be me!'  Even as I write this, I have to suppress the overwhelming urge to look on Ebay for metal detectors.

Alas, reality demonstrates that most great things only come at the end of great effort and dogged persistence.

"Thou, O God, dost sell us all good things at the price of labor." Leonardo da Vinci

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."" Calvin Coolidge

"In the sweat of thy face shalt though eat bread, till though return to the ground." Genesis 3:19 

Though Wesley Carrington has joined a local metal detecting club, he hasn't found anything else since October. With his beginner's luck having run dry, it looks like he will have to rely on hard work and persistence for his next find. Apparently it's not supposed to be easy.