You don’t have to run a marathon to understand the power of endurance. Whether it means sticking to a diet, or standing behind the limits we set for our children, every worthy endeavor requires endurance to ensure success.
We may have a sense of what needs to be done and how to accomplish goals, but, in spite of careful planning and the best intentions, those checklists may remain unchecked and the New Year’s Resolutions may make an appearance next year. Plans constantly fall to the wayside without the endurance to carry them out or the will go forward.
So what is the ingredient needed for netzach or endurance? We often blame the face that we only have 24 hours or insufficient willpower if things don’t get done, but ironically, what may be lacking before netzach, also translated as victory, can be achieved is surrender. The mind can invent a thousand reasons not to do something, but if one surrenders one’s mind to the principle that it “has to be done”, then we can begin to experience that results from endurance.
Endurance, when combined with the other 6 emotional traits outlined in Kabbala, supports and sustains these qualities. When we wish to develop a certain character trait, endurance is required to foster character growth.
Endurance and Kindness: Are my acts of kindness consistent? Do I persist in my good deeds?
Endurance and Discipline: Do I follow through with the rules I lay down? Can I stick to a schedule?
Endurance and Beauty: Is a sense of balance something that I achieve only occasionally? How can I continue to achieve balance?
Endurance and Humility: Is my endurance heavy-handed, or is it tempered with humility
Endurance and Dignity: Do I strain too much, or do I expend effort in a dignified manner?