While some may look at stubbornness as an obstacle, I’m here to tell you that persistence can actually be an asset.
Also known by such endearing terms as “pigheadedness,” “bullheadedness,” and “mulishness,” stubbornness is defined by Merriam Webster as “a steadfast adherence to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion.”
Despite its apparent connotations with various thick-skulled farm animals, stubbornness can be turned from irritating insistence into a useful skill in jobs (especially journalism), projects, and when you really, really want a 100 percent on that Italian test but just don’t want to conjugate one more infinitive verb.
Stubbornness is also the quality of persistence, of never giving up, of refusing to let something beat you – and there’s no way that’s a bad thing, no matter what you call it.
Usually, when I think of someone being stubborn, I think of them refusing to give up, which is generally an opinion that most people don’t agree with. What people, including myself, tend to ignore, though, is that it takes courage (and, yes, persistence) to be the person that keeps insisting they know what to do.
Being stubborn takes courage. It requires not letting people change your opinion – and not caring that they may keep insisting you’re in the wrong, even if you know you’re right. Stubbornness requires enough patience to keep advancing your ideas even when they aren’t listened to, and, yes, enough pigheadedness to not give in.
Sheryl Sandberg? Didn’t give in when she was talked over, or ignored, or interrupted while she worked her way into one of Facebook’s most prominent positions. Helen Gurley Brown? Didn’t give in when she was taking over as Cosmopolitan’s editor in chief and remaking the position into something for the modern woman. J.K Rowling? Didn’t give in when Harry Potter was rejected multiple times by multiple publishers.
All refused to give up on what they wanted, and are now some of the best examples (in multiple fields) of why stubbornness should be a virtue, not a curse.
Stubbornness can help you write the next bestseller, or find the next element, or make the next greatest sports team.
Some see stubbornness as something to be ignored, but how can it be bad to keep fighting for what you want?
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