How Determined Are You? Building Determination

Ever wonder why some people succeed at their goals, when others do not? Some might say they worked harder, knew the right people, or were really lucky. One reason of their success may be their level of clear determination. Determination is the act of making decisions and choices in your life. Determination is the art of living by design. It is not a passive stance, rather an active stance with conviction.

Below are 4 steps to building your determination from the inside out.

#1 Build from your Strengths

Use you strongest skills first. It can be less effectual to attempt to build your weaknesses. Creating a conscious focus on your weakness produces a counter-intuitive result. Focusing on your weaknesses can actually bring strength to them, and weaken your frame of mind. Instead, build from what you are GREAT at!

#2 Find Deep Commitment

There is a big difference between just being “involved” with something and being “committed” to something. Commitment requires full investment. FULL INVESTMENT. State to yourself WHY you are investing. Visualize the end result. What is your purpose for investing yourself fully? What will you attain? Who will you be? Commit to something bigger than your current self. Commit to something bigger than yourself.

Accountability is a great tool to help with keeping your commitments. Find an accountability partner. Write on your wall why you have committed to this goal. Hold yourself accountable with alarms reminding you to take action (alexa, google, etc).

Never give up. Instead give IN! When you feel like giving up, tell yourself you are instead going to give in, give inside … give to yourself. There are 3 major reasons why people lose their commitment:
1. perfectionism
2. they don’t believe in themselves
3. past emotional anchors of failure

When you have seen you have lost commitment to your goals, ask yourself: Am I trying to be too perfect? Do I believe I can do it? Are my past failures clouding my future achievements?

Find Internal Motivation for your commitment. Internal motivation is when we do something because we find it fulfilling, interesting or enjoyable, without recognition or reward from others. There is a difference between engaging in something because you want to, and because you have to because of an external requirement. Although seeing your success using external motivators can be more obvious, it isn’t a sustainable source of happiness. It relies on things outside your control, and can fade.

#3 Build Resilience

Determination requires resilience. Resilience is our ability to keep going through adversity. It is bouncing back from difficult challenges, realigning with your goals and moving forward again. It is the ability for us to continue through our commitments, regardless of what life is throwing our direction. It is the art of growing unshakable core of calm, strength and happiness. There are 4 ways to build resilience
1. Embrace change.Look at the positive side of a situation
2. Take care of yourself, both physically and emotionally _ be kind to yourself, love yourself
3. Let go of the things that are outside our control.
4. Have a sense of humor.
5. Find an external support system – develop strong personal connections – mentors, advisors, supporters.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling,

but in rising every time we fall

Confucius

#3 Deliberate Practice

Determination comes with practice. Deliberate practice is a regular, purposeful and systematic to improve performance. Make your life a constant state of practice. Don’t trust your goals to luck or chance. Instead, build a purposeful practice to attaining your goals. Practice is the art of repetition. See it. Hear it. Touch it. Do it.

How can I build my determination?

Decide to build your Determination:
Commit to yourself, to your goal of building your determination muscle. Say it outloud. Say it proud. Say it clear. Use this commitment to yourself to fuel the exercises below. Determination begins by deciding wha tyou want and sticking to your decisions no matter what.

Imagine yourself being more and more determined each day through this process. Playing out a more determined you in your mind, helps smooth any unconscious limiting beliefs about your past commitments.

Decide on a goal to do daily. Make sure it is small and attainable. Do it at the same time each day.

Create positive habits surrounding your daily goal. Give yourself a physical pat on the back. Congratulate yourself once you completed your daily task. Enjoy who you are as you are building this determination muscle. Make it something you do that is second nature. Discipline automates habits which, in turn, determines your outcomes.

Do your daily task every day.

Examples of daily tasks:
— I will move a rock from the left side of my front door, to the right side of my front door. Next day, right to left. Repeat.
— I will make sure all dishes are loaded into the dishwasher every night.
— I will juice every morning.
— I will make your bed every morning.
— I will wake up at the same time each morning.
— I will do 15 push-ups at noon every day.

“Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment” — Zig Ziglar

Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision,

of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the life you desire.

Martha Graham