Friday Review: Determination
What are you determined to do or change? Here are a few determination-related posts you may have missed. Click on the Quote to read the full message:
Category Archives: Determination
The Scariest Moment
“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
-Stephen King, American Contemporary Horror Author
Image from themostimportantnews.com
Take a minute to consider the scariest moments in your life. Things that might come to mind are:
- Public Speaking
- A really fast roller coaster ride
- Skydiving
- Getting a new job that requires skills you do not have
- Writing your first book or starting your first business
- Resigning from a stable job to transition into a new career
Experience all the sensations we associate with fear: cold sweats, shakes, rubbery legs, and your heart pounding in your chest. How often do you stop and retreat? How often do find the courage to move forward?
EXERCISE:
I’d like you to try being courageous for just 20 seconds when you experience scary moments. When you feel fear welling up, tell yourself “I can be brave for 20 seconds,” or “I can handle that for 20 seconds.” Before long, you will discover the exhilaration and excitement of getting past the barrier of fear we all experience.
Start today, and commit to developing a 20-second courage habit every day this week, and beyond.
Threshold of your Mind
“The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom, but rather, leads you to the threshold of your mind.”
-Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer
image from itu.edu
Take a moment to get into an imaginary time machine and go back to your youth.
Specifically, I’d like you to visit your grammar school, middle school, high school, college, and if you had them, post-graduate educational experiences.
As you explore each of these periods in your life, take note of the teachers who have made the most memorable and lasting impact on your life. How many of them challenged your thinking and encouraged greater personal inquiry, rather than simply pouring their reservoir of knowledge into you?
EXERCISE:
Who are the current teachers, mentors, and coaches that lead you to expand the threshold of your mind? How can you be such a resource for others in your personal and professional communities?
From the Errors of Others
“From the errors of others, a wise man corrects his own.”
—Publilius Syrus, ancient Syrian writer
A highly notable technique to support personal growth and development is to encourage people to embrace failure. When we fail, we have the opportunity to pick up experiential lessons from the event.
Today’s quote, however, suggests that not all lessons need to occur from our own failures, setbacks, and stumbles. All we need do is pay particular attention to the misadventures of those around us. From them, we can glean additional nuggets of knowledge and wisdom.
Given the fact that there is only one of you, and so many people in your personal and professional worlds, the odds favor the open and receptive mind in picking up a higher proportion of lessons this way.
EXERCISE:
Where and in what ways can you use the errors of others to pursue greater success and mastery throughout your day?
“A lot can happen in a year”
“A lot can happen in a year.”
-Author Unknown
Image from www.wordbypicture.com
As we age, many people experience time passing more quickly. I once heard the statement, “Life is like a toilet paper roll. The more sheets we use the faster it spins.” Given the finite nature of time, how we spend it becomes even more important.
I’d like to suggest we use the power of our intentions to identify our most highly prized goals and aspirations. When we accompany them with focused determination, we experience the journey more fully and produce our desired results.
EXERCISE:
Given the fact that our years go by one way or the other, please consider identifying your intentions in the following areas, so what you want to happen will:
- Career
- Finances
- Family & Friends
- Personal Growth
- Fun & Recreation
- Physical Environment
- Health
- Community
- Love & Romance
- Faith
Feel free to add additional categories that are most important to you.
Consider the support of a friend, family member, mentor, or a coach to help you make this your best year yet.
Also consider breaking down this exercise into more management nuggets of days, weeks, or months, to build the habit of ongoing intentionality.
Hustle and Heart
“Hustle and heart will set you apart.”
—Alisa Jacobs, Entertainment Marketing and PR Manager at Diageo
One of the things I enjoy about certain quotes is their catchiness and rhythm. That they also communicate a fundamental truth is critical. These factors generate a stickiness that allows us to carry them in our minds wherever we go.
Examine the levels of Heart and Hustle you currently bring to your personal and professional efforts. Notice that if your Heart is not in it, your level of Hustle will rarely be, either.
EXERCISE:
What adjustments can you make in your heartfelt attitudes and efforts to set you apart from your previous self and those around you?
“The most interesting thing…”
“The most interesting thing about a postage stamp is the persistence with which it sticks to its job.”
-Napoleon Hill, American Author
Photo from Flicker by U.S. Embassy The Hague
Napoleon Hill, an American author born in 1883, was a pioneer in the New Thought Movement, and one of the earliest producers of personal success literature. His work, which includes his classic Think and Grow Rich, examines the power of personal beliefs as a critical catalyst in personal achievement.
Although at the time of his birth, the United States Postal Service was 100 years old, I’m sure the postage stamp choices were fairly limited. Today, in addition to the “forever” stamp which will always provide an adequate amount of postage for a first class letter, we have a wide variety of stamp images to choose from. We also have the option to customize postage stamps with our company logo or whatever image we choose. It’s astounding.
EXERCISE:
How can you create a unique life stamp for yourself, and persistently stick with this task as the foundation of your current and future successes?
Take Another Step
“If you take another step, and another, you will be surprised to know how far you can go from the point you thought was the end.”
– Marc and Angel, personal development writers
Image from Flickr by Bods
Whether it’s taking one more step or going the extra mile, the power of persistence is without question a key to success. Being persistent helps build self-confidence. Once you know you can make it through one struggle, you’re more likely to take that next step in other areas of your life.
A good friend once told me that what stops most people is … stopping. What if we simply didn’t buy in to a life of ease and convenience, and tapped into our own personal grit and character to keep going, stay the course, and finish strong on those things that matter most?
Exercise:
What issues, challenges or struggles are you currently facing that would most benefit from taking the next step and then another until you arrive victorious?
The Seeds You Plant
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.”
– Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist and poet
image from Flickr by Andrew Shieh
Harvest time is only a small part of the growing season. My wife and I grew tomatoes last summer, and really enjoyed harvesting them at the end of August.
The process of growing them, though, was a bit more involved and time consuming than we expected. It included purchasing seeds, preparing the soil, watering, providing sunlight, adding plant food, watering, adding more plant food, more watering… you get the idea!
Exercise:
What seeds can you plant today? What care and attention will they need daily, so that you can have a successful harvest in the future?
Make sure you enjoy the process of gardening and not just the sweet fruits of life.