Proskarteresis

The conscious, repeated capacity to remain faithful to a task once begun and not abandon it when moral effort starts to wane.

Proskarteresis (from Greek pros = toward, in the direction of; karterein = to endure, to hold fast, to be strong) denotes in Stoic vocabulary not blind stubbornness but a deliberate perseverance in what is right. It differs from mere obstinacy in that it is consciously bound to the ethically good. The distinction lies not in the duration of an action but in its moral orientation: one who perseveres in what is wrong exercises willfulness; one who perseveres in what is right exercises virtue. Proskarteresis is thus the inner strength not to fall away from an ethical task once clearly recognized, even when exhaustion, the allure of a fresh start, or uncertainty beckons.