The example
According to the Spanish dictionary, ‘perseverar’ means to remain constant in the pursuit of something you have started, in an attitude or in an opinion. On the other hand, ‘insistir’ in its second meaning emphasises the action of persisting or remaining firm in something. The almost imperceptible line that divides perseverance from insistence is delineated by conviction. Thus, perseverance seems to have a greater motive than simple insistence, which, although it can sometimes be used as a synonym, may lack motive and perhaps harbour some pretension, something that does not seem to be the case with perseverance.
In any case, help me to elucidate these concepts with an example provided by nature itself.
The Oophaga pumilio, or red and blue arrow frog of Costa Rica, is a living example. They are considered extremely dangerous and can grow to be slightly larger than a thumbnail.
In the Mesozoic era, some 35 million years ago and two hours ago (which is how long it took me to write this text), frogs emerged from the waters and began to populate the earth.
In what is now Costa Rica, there were (and still are) some little frogs that play an evolutionary role, carry prehistoric genetic material and can contribute to our knowledge of the past in order to define conservation strategies.
With climate change, they are at risk of extinction due to water shortages in the Costa Rican jungle. The red and blue arrow frog places its tadpoles in small pools of fresh water so that they can finish developing. Water shortages have caused the death of 7 out of 10 tadpoles.
The mother frogs have found an alternative. Their body moisture allows them to keep their tadpoles alive for approximately thirty hours. Every time it rains, the frog hears that high up in the canopy of the tallest trees, there are small pools of fresh water inside the bromeliads, so pure and safe that they are the perfect shelter for their young.
When the day comes, at sunrise, the mother frog climbs onto her tadpoles and begins to climb a jungle tree about 20 metres high. She climbs her personal Everest, one jump at a time, which can take between fifteen and twenty hours to reach her destination. She locates the perfect basin and leaves her tadpoles. She has now ensured at least one more generation. She repeats this process about 50 times in her life.
Does the red and blue arrow frog insist or persist?
For me, it leaves us with a clear and vivid example of perseverance, conviction, firm commitment and dedication, key values in today’s organisational environment that we sometimes tend to downplay because of their technical or technological importance. Although in itself, and for all the reasons mentioned above, the technological crusade can also be considered an ‘action and effect of perseverance’.
