So how determined are you?

Yesterday I photographed a very determined Sulphur-crested Cockatoo outside our back door. The last of the morning bird seed was in a large dish designed for the smaller birds but this cockatoo decided it was going to find a way down onto the bowl no matter what!

The bird got me thinking about determination. So how determined are you? “Determination is, the ability carry on in the face of everything in your mind and the environment telling you to quit, when you believe what you are doing will work” 

You’ve probably noticed how many people when they’re on the road toward achieving a goal get to a stage when they allow negative self talk to raise doubt. This is the time when they discover the need for DETERMINATION. It could be physical determination or mental or maybe some extra patience. However, if I’ve learned anything in life it would have to be  – never underestimate the lengths some people will go to get their own way –  some will do anything to do or get what they want.

I know I’m a very determined person, sometimes to my own detriment. Though without determination I would never have finished writing my first novel  ‘Tails Carried High’.  It took me ten years. The characters in my books are also determined people. But when you look around there are so many people who give up as soon as they face the first obstacle, or as soon as the going gets rough.

An Indian Proverb states: “Life is not a continuum of pleasant choices, but of inevitable problems that call for strength, determination, and hard work.”  With this proverb in mind I thought about the points which motivate me and apart from visualising my success and reciting certain mantras or statements about success every day, I know I have a purpose. I know why I do what I do and I have clear reasons, even if it’s because I simply love doing it. At first I was scared of the outcome or the results but the consequences whether good or bad were always clear and the rewards keep me going. I respect the opinions of those around me and most of all, my life has taught me to be very grateful, even when things are tuff.

So, take some time and think about your goals. The Cockatoo had a very clear goal, he wanted that seed! If only we could always feel as focused but we have to start somewhere, so if you don’t have any goals, now might be a good time to come up with some and while you’re at it ask yourself, how determined you are to achieve them and if you are willing to pay the price and stick at it?

Determination comes from creating and visualising the right thoughts, just like our little friend the Cockatoo. Determination means never giving up until you get what you want.

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” – George Sheehan