Perseverance is about enduring and remaining strong when faced with complication, tragedy and resistance. Angela Duckworth has spent years researching what she calls 'grit' - the tendency to sustain interest in and effort towards very long-term goals.  Grit isn't about talent or gifts, it's about a tenacity that keeps us focused on achieving long term goals even when it's hard.  It's about keeping going even when we get it wrong, or when progress is so slow we can barely notice it.