The randomiser wheel picked “Power in persistence”. I’m currently using a tool to select phrases for my daily journal practice. They are all associated with the theme of Strength.

Persistence has power—it can contribute to a better world, but it can also do the opposite, extracting and coercing people without consent.

I receive countless unsolicited emails from people pitching podcast appearances, guest posts, and products/services. Many seem to believe persistence is about repeating a request until the subject gives in. If I don’t respond, follow-ups come: “Just bumping this to the top of your inbox,” “A quick nudge,” or “I know you’re busy, so here’s a reminder.” These messages are the noise driven by automated systems and broad statistics about human behaviour.

A Strange Request

The mentality behind this concerns me—not just the impersonal nature but the transactional approach. Someone wants something from me and assumes persistence will wear me down. That’s not consent; it’s coercion.

One email stood out. A guest pitch came with flattery about my podcast. Despite knowing it was a mass email, I liked their premise, so I replied, explaining I only consider unsolicited guests after following them for a while to ensure it’s a good fit. Their response? A curt request for details about my listener numbers and marketing plans so they could decide if appearing on my podcast was worth their time. It was baffling. The inconsistency in their charade was almost refreshing—they said the quiet part out loud. They had no idea who I was.

When Persistence Undermines Consent

This kind of persistence—indiscriminate, impersonal, and extractive—is a problem. It interprets silence or rejection as a challenge to overcome, undermining our understanding of consent. Persistence works in marketing at scale; exposure breeds familiarity. But at a personal level, it’s a slippery slope.

Yet persistence is also vital to healthy relationships. In friendships, it’s about consistently showing up, remembering, and caring—contributing rather than extracting. Genuine persistence flips the dynamic. For example, if someone persistently offers help, asks how they can contribute and follows up with care, it feels collaborative rather than transactional.

Persistent Trust and Respect

This kind of persistence builds trust and respect. It creates connections where requests have meaning because they stem from a foundation of mutual understanding. Done sincerely—not as a tactic—it can lead to incredible outcomes, strengthening relationships and fostering collaboration.

Persistence has power, for better or worse. What matters is how we apply it: to extract or contribute, to coerce or collaborate.

If this reflection resonates, let me know—leave a comment or send me a message. And if you want to explore prompts like this yourself, check out the randomiser in The Haven and see where it takes you.