The Oxford English Dictionary defines determination as the quality of having made a firm decision and being resolved not to change it. It also describes possessing or displaying resolve.
When people describe determination they often reference courage. If you are brave enough to take chances and make choices that may not always be easy it helps you with the willpower to do what you want to do and makes things easier to achieve.
William Faulkner said, “You cannot swim for new horizons until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
If you stay in your comfort zone you will never grow. If you have no ambition or determination to improve then you won’t go anywhere or do anything that could make you happy.
Barack Obama said, “The best way not to feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope. You will fill yourself with hope.”
You have all the capabilities to achieve your goals and be successful, but if you are not determined to do it, and are not brave enough to make sacrifices then you won’t achieve much. Vince Lombardi said, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.”
Leonard Cohen’s song, Anthem, there is a beautiful lyric about living in the moment and seeing the positive in situations. He wrote about not aiming for perfection, but rather for growth and new opportunities. The verse was written as follows:
“Ring the bells that can still ring
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.”
