Intellectual Perseverance: Having a consciousness of
the need to use intellectual insights and truths in spite of difficulties,
obstacles, and frustrations; firm adherence to rational principles despite the
irrational opposition of others; a sense of the need to struggle with confusion
and unsettled questions over an extended period of time to achieve deeper
understanding or insight.
When I saw the
expert definition of intellectual perseverance, there was one portion that
really stood out to me. The person that wrote this definition of intellectual
perseverance wrote “a sense of the need to struggle with confusion and
unsettled questions over an extended period of time to achieve deeper
understanding of insight”. This to me sounds like critical thinking, even more
it sounds like Richard Paul’s definition of critical thinking “critical
thinking is thinking about your thinking, while you’re thinking in order to
make your thinking better”. This statement from Richard is talking about the
struggle which you must go through to truly find the deepest and truest meaning
of what you are trying to understand rather than staying on the surface of what
you are trying to understand.
To me
intellectual perseverance is something that can be accomplished through honing your
thinking skills and finding the true meaning of words. You need to be able to
listen to your own thoughts, understand your studies and then actually convince
yourself that what you have come to understand is true. You need to accept your
conclusion despite what others might say or even what your prior feelings on
the subject matter may be. At times it can be difficult to think a certain way
because we do not want to believe certain things which we might have disagreed
with in the past.
Rationality is
important when persevering intellectually, one can see it as a science and
knowing the difference between what are facts and what is fiction. I feel that
this has been a constant struggle in this world for hundreds of years;
sometimes we do not want to hear the facts even if the truths are laid out in
front of us. One can see this with the battle between science and religion on many
different occasions throughout history.
I feel that
intellectual perseverance in the next two years as I continue my studies will
be very important because I will have to get out of my comfort zone and start
to deeply think about many different topics. I will have to leave all my bias
thoughts in the past and open my mind if I am looking to achieve the next level
of intelligence. By persevering intellectually I will break free of ignorance
which could plague me from being an intellectual.
I think that a
part of being a good leader is being able to see things for what they are and
not jump to hasty conclusions. It is important to be able to stop and think
instead of always reacting to what your first thought might be, time to reflect
as a leader is essential. Each decision as a leader is very important, each
move as a leader is criticized by those whom you are in charge of. Making bad decisions
can lead to a loss of confidence from your team, employees, students, etc. Intellectual
perseverance is something which cannot be bought or given, you can be given
instructions on how to attain it but it must be earned through deep thought.
Intellectual perseverance is a skill which is vital to the longevity of every
successful leader.
