Tenacity

Tenacity – How I love this word!  Why?  Let me try to explain. Is stubbornness a virtue? I am a very stubborn person.  Stubbornness and hanging in there until some task was completed has always seemed like a virtue to me.  Stubborn people get things done!  They stay at a project until it is completed to their satisfaction.  Tenacious people stand by their principles.  They do not allow themselves to be dissuaded by someone else’s opinion about what they should do or who they should be.

I have always considered stubbornness to be among the great virtues. However, people keep telling me that stubborn is not a virtue but a fault.   Maybe, they have a point.  Then, I came across the word “tenacity.”   This lovely word means about the same thing as my personal definition of “stubborn” but it sounds so much nicer.  I guess I am not stubborn but tenacious.

Finishing What We Begin

Hanging in there until a task is completed no matter how hard or how boring is another aspect of the word tenacity, in my mind.  Effort is not enough, by itself.  We must finish the tasks we start to find success at them and at life.  Here is a poem I remember my mother instructing me to read.  She did this more than once.  Apparently, I needed a bit of encouragement in this area.

This has been a favorite poem of mine all my life.  Hopefully, I have passed it along to my children.

Strength in Adversity

The very thought of adversity as a way of developing strength of character is almost enough to send a person back to bed!  Nevertheless, it is the things that we stand up against and work our way through that build strength in us.  We are not so very different from the chicken that must peck his own way out of the eggshell that encases him in order to develop the strength to survive.   Come to think of it, the butterfly emerging from his chrysalis is experiencing much the same growth process as the baby chick.  Adversity in our own lives can if we meet it properly, develop in us the strength to become stronger and better people – better versions of ourselves.

There is strength to be found in having struggled.  Adversity creates opportunities to become wiser, stronger, and better prepared for the next bump in the road.   For me, knowing that I – with Heaven’s help – have triumphed (or even just survived) hard things before, helps me to remember that I have the strength to do hard things again today.  Hard things are like the rocks in a creek that must be crossed.  They can be stepping stones to where we wish to go.

Essential Oils and Tenacity

^LeMillenia

This blend is courage and tenacity in a bottle.  I especially like ^LeMillenia for working with children with ADHD.  They feel such a sense of “I can do this” with this oil blend.

^LeBelieve

The beautiful aroma of ^LeBelieve builds confidence in our ability to cope and even to thrive in the circumstances of our lives as they are right now.  This blend is a great oil for helping us feel more optimistic, more motivated, and more tenacious overall.

^LeAcknowledge

^LeAcknowledge contains Sandalwood.  That one oil alone guarantees it a place as a blend for quieting feelings of fear and discouragement.  The synergy of this blend brings relief from feelings of frustration, self-pity, insecurity, and hopelessness.

^LeAssurance

Anxiety, fear, and apathy lead to procrastination.  Procrastination also, too often leads to failure to finish a project at all.  ^LeAssurance can be relied upon to get us moving forward once again.

^LeDiscernment

This blend promotes feelings of faith in the future.  It brings us renewed enthusiasm and a desire to accomplish our goals and dreams.  This blend removes feelings of hopelessness and discouragement. ^LeDiscernment helps us achieve a healthy balance between the analytical left brain and the intuitive right brain.  Such balance allows us to move forward with a clear vision.

^LeDreams

This blend helps us keep our dreams in sight and to realize our potential without becoming self-centered or selfish.  ^LeDreams can also be helpful with insomnia.

^LeCinnamon Bear

Sometimes, as we move toward the completion of a goal or a project, we find ourselves entering a state of fear of the changes that success may bring about in our lives.  ^LeCinnamon Bear is the perfect blend for moving forward in the face of this sort of fear.

^LeExhilaration

Hopelessness and discouragement keep us from tenaciously sticking to our tasks.  ^LeExhilaration strengthens our resolve.  This blend helps us see new and different solutions to the things that seem to be blocking our path.  It is as if the aroma of ^LeExhilaration helps us to see our surroundings in a more comprehensive way.  It is as though suddenly, there are several paths available to us instead of just the one we could see a moment ago.

^LeInner Peace

The ^LeInner Peace blend is appropriately named.  This blend can help us stay focused and clear about the direction we want our lives to take.  ^LeInner Peace leaves us open, compassionate, and willing to be of service even as we strive to move forward toward our own goals and desires.

Flower Essence Remedies

Elm

The person in need of Elm is overwhelmed by the scope of the duties and tasks required of them.  They feel inadequate and fear failure.  The abandonment of the project or goal seems to them, at these times, to be the best or only solution.

Gentian

This remedy helps one find the perseverance, confidence, and faith to continue in spite of setbacks and difficulties.  Gentian encourages the learning of lessons from setbacks, followed by the desire to persevere and achieve.

Hornbeam

Energy and enthusiasm for daily tasks keynote of Hornbeam.  This energy is produced by giving full attention to the tasks ahead until success seems attainable and even inevitable.

Indian Paintbrush

Indian Paintbrush is especially for those persons who are exhausted and lack the vitality to sustain the intensity of the current work or project that they have committed themselves to.

Larch

Self-confidence and the expectation of success. Larch is helpful for those who suffer from great self-doubt.  It is too often true that our own self-doubt is felt by others.  The result is harsh judgments and lack of cooperation from those with whom we are working.

Mountain Pride

Mountain Pride is for those who are suffering from a lack of assertiveness that is needed by good leaders or project managers.

Oak

Typically the Oak personality is a great leader.   He accepts and then works around his own and his team’s limitations.  He does this while keeping his eye firmly on the goal and his team moving steadily forward.   When out of balance, this personality becomes iron-willed and inflexible.  He is likely to demand more of himself and others than is reasonable.

Scotch Broom

The patterns of imbalance of this remedy include being disheartened and depressed.  The person is overcome with despair at ever finishing anything.  The positive qualities that Scotch Broom brings about include positive and optimistic feelings about the future.

Tansy

The specialty of Tansy remedy is in overcoming procrastination.  It is also helpful in overcoming habits that undermine one’s abilities and talents.  The positive qualities that are the result?  Decisive and goal-oriented, purposeful actions.  Becoming self-motivated and directed.  The mastery of the skills necessary for achievement comes easily.  Success is assured.

Wild Oat

I particularly like the effects of Wild Oat  Instead of feeling confusion and indecision about what to tackle next or the overall direction one’s life should take, there is a feeling of responding to an inner calling where one’s work and life are concerned.  This sense of purpose almost guarantees the success of any endeavor.