Persistence Gives Up

Ironic, no?
So, I was writing something for work the other day and I had the impulse to use the expression "stick-to-it-iveness". In my defense, writing for work is very different from when I really write, so I use words (and ideas) that I would no more use than let snakes in turtlenecks visit my house. I, and I assume most people, naturally write towards my audience, and it can't be helped. In addition, I never even wrote the word (for lack of a better...well...word) down- I'm not completely lost. It did bring me up short, though, and make me wonder when that expression became so common that a vocabulary crank like myself would even consider, for the most infinitesimal fraction of a second, using it? I looked it up online: it only had 1 dictionary definition, and it was classified as colloquial, but I really wanted it to be officially declared Not A Word. Its irregardless all over again! What's wrong with saying persistence? Or determination? Why do we have to invent a clunky, inelegant, awkward alternative? And why do I let it bother me?