Faith *and* Persistence

Samuel Johnson wrote, "Great works are accomplished not through faith, but through persistence." Hmm. Not with you on that one, Mr. Johnson.

Let me explain. I completely agree that any great work can only be accomplished "through persistence", BUT I believe that without faith, the persistence will be much harder to maintain. And I don't necessarily mean religious faith either. I mean belief in yourself, in the project, in why it is necessary to add it to the world's treasures. Whether the project is a book, a poem, a picture, a craft item, a piece of music or a stunning building, such as those in the Forum in Rome (pictured above). 

All creators, of whatever stripe, need both faith and persistence to complete their creations. All creations begin with an idea, an inspiration. And I believe that there are many, many unfinished creations lurking in desk drawers, dark cupboards, or which never "left the drawing board", either because the creator and/or their financial backers did not have faith in it, or because the creator lacked the persistence to carry on working on the project until it was complete.

Beginning a creative project, a "great work" is relatively easy. Bringing it to successful completion is another. I think that both faith and persistence are needed to accomplish this goal. The creator needs faith in themselves, and in what they are creating, not to listen to what Brené Brown calls "the gremlins" - those little voices in your head that sneer at you, saying that your work is rubbish, that you are no good at it, that "Who do you think *you* are, to call yourself a writer / artist / creator of any kind?" 

And they need persistence, to get through the inevitable dry times, when the Inspiration Fairy has gone AWOL, and the blank page or blank canvas is taunting them about their lack of accomplishment. A great deal of persistence is needed to break through this wall and continue to create, putting word by word down on the page, paint stroke by paint stroke, stitch by stitch, note by note. 

And people need both, to bring whatever work they have in hand to completion. Which may mean working on a relationship, practising a piano piece, exploring their inner selves. It applies to all areas of human activity, not creation alone.

Faith *and* persistence. Both are needed.