The word obstinate is used as an adjective of a qualifying type to account for that individual who is characterized by his stubbornness, tenacity or perseverance..
Person who is characterized by perseverance, tenacity or by his foolishness and stubbornness
So, the term obstinate finds two uses that are very different from each other, one of which we could say presents a broadly positive sense while the other is negative.
In the case of the use of the word in a negative sense, it is normally used when one wants to realize that a person is extremely capricious, that he always wants to be right and impose his ideas even when he is totally wrong, he is otherwise foolish and stubborn.
“Juan ignored our warnings that a very strong storm would break out that night, he went out with the car and finally stopped halfway. Laura is so stubborn that it exasperates.”
Meanwhile, if the word is used in a positive sense, it will allow us to account for that person who, despite the various and complex difficulties that life presents, continues to struggle to achieve their goals in this, for example, in a context academic in which Juan studies whenever necessary, attends all the subjects and also obtains excellent grades in the exams and he complies with all this even though he has to work to pay for his studies, that is, that obstinacy that he presents to achieve His goal in life, which is to graduate as soon as possible, makes him a stubborn individual.
Always, in any context, when there is a person who puts a lot of effort into achieving his mission in life, even when the fact that it materializes implies undergoing difficult tests and situations, he will be called stubborn.
Linked with tenacity and also with stubbornness
Here there is a close relationship with tenacity, a highly positive value because it leads those who have it to act beyond the adversities and obstacles that arise.
Therefore, when someone is stubborn, they can bring both positive and negative results, that is, it will depend directly on the predisposition they present: good or bad.
On the other hand, we must say that the obstinate remains firm in a position despite the fact that it has been proven false or equivocal.
In this sense, obstinacy is linked to stubbornness, a tendency to repeat behavior, generally in an irrational way.
The stubborn will always want their will to be done despite the fact that reality and people show them and shout that they are wrong.
The social problems that stubbornness can develop
This behavior can sometimes be dangerous both for the person who observes the behavior and for third parties, since such a strong position of not accepting mistakes or the advice of the experience of others can lead to a reckless action that ends up hurting him. and those around him.
Obstinacy always goes against learning and the common good, only his own interest prevails and that things are done as he says and wants.
Here we find a close relationship with whim since you want everything to be done according to what your will dictates.
This type of attitude is usually very uncomfortable and received as hostile by the people who live around the obstinate, it is certainly annoying to have to deal with someone who always wants to be right even if they are not in the slightest.
Lack of self-criticism will surely drive people away, and the stubborn often end up socially isolated.
It is undoubtedly a great personality defect, when it implies this attitude of always wanting to be right, which if not corrected in time, can, as we have already said, generate certain problems in social relationships for those who suffer from it.
The main difference between the positive and negative sense of this concept is that in the first case the person is able to review his behavior and modify it to succeed or achieve his goal, while in the second case there is an impossibility of going back on what it is done and usually even blame others for their own failures.
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