導 讀：人生猶如一場馬拉松比賽，能夠獲得最后勝利的人，不會是一開始就用盡全力的人，也不會是半途而廢的人，而是能夠在比賽過程中找到一個堅持的理由，支撐自己跑到終點的人。

Why would you want to persist in anything？ Thats a very good question. Actually， why would you want to persist？ Answer that question in a way that is personally meaningful to you， and you greatly empower your persistence.

Persistence asks effort and sacrifice， and in order to pay the price you must have a compelling reason. No one can persist for very long in the pursuit of something they do not truly desire. In such a case， attempts at persistence only lead to failure and disillusionment. It is important to differentiate between the object of your persistence and the challenges put by that persistence. For example， you may be able to persist in a job you dislike because it is the only way for you to make the money necessary to provide your children with a quality education. In this case， the object of your persistence is not your job. It is your childrens education. The job is what you persist through， not what you persist for. Whatever you persist for must be meaningful enough and desirable enough to supply the energy for your persistence. Make sure you know what it is， clearly and specifically. Anyone can endure almost anything if the reason is meaningful enough. Find a good reason to persist， and you will.

Vocabulary

persist v. 堅持

sacrifice n. 犧牲

disillusionment n. 幻滅，破滅

endure v. 忍耐，容忍

（你堅持的理由是什么？找到一個富有意義的明確目標，你會更容易堅持下去！）

胡蘭 改編