My mother has a saying, that’s been on her fridge for as long as I can remember.  “Stick to a task ‘till it sticks to you, beginners are many, finishers are few.”  This week I finished the second novel in my Duke to Duchess book series, a moment, that for me, reaffirmed the importance of perseverance. 

Too often in this “immediate gratification” society we live in, people give up when something is hard.  Or they’re not the best at it.  Or it doesn’t come “naturally”.  In my life, the list is endless of things I’ve struggled to do.  Swimming is one that comes to mind.  I became a lifeguard out of necessity, needing the certification for the hearing-impaired camp I worked at as a teenager.  My strokes stunk.  I moved at such a slow pace the ninety-year-old man in the next lane over was passing me.  But while gulping gallons of water and clinging to the wall every five strokes or so, something happened, the gallons became pints, five strokes became ten.  I am now a proficient swimmer, not Olympic worthy, but from years of lapping, I can now keep up with the average eighty-year-old.

There are so many tasks out there we will be asked to do.  Odds are you’re not going to like them all, but “stick to it” just the same.  Remember the gratification you’ll feel is multiplied by the effort it took to finish.  That means…I’m off to the store for more bum-glue. There’s a book three inside me needing to get out.