Many people pride themselves on their “determination”. But what exactly is it, and where does it comes from?
In my estimation, genuine determination refers to a willing commitment to make intelligent, effective choices. It’s about engaging the self-discipline to make choices based on reason & intellect rather than emotion. And then following through on those choices with self-disciplined activities based also on reason & intellect rather than emotion.
A challenge for many people is that “being determined” in practice ends up only reinforcing their willingness to accept their own stubborn & defiant behaviour patterns. All too often, what many people pride themselves on ends up being not true determination at all, but rather their willingness to stubbornly cling to their immediate emotional drivers. As an example, real determination does not refer to a willingness to shore up one’s flagging confidence with emotion – that’s simply a form of defiance called bravado.
So, want to check yourself? Take a look at when & how you apply your determination.
For example, does your “determination” often assume the form of, say, defiance? If so, just be aware that this is a trap you can fall into quite easily whenever you’re trying to bolster or substitute a shaky confidence.
So then how can you tell if you are engaging true determination, and not some nasty, self-defeating form of emotionality? Well, you’ll see soon enough because if you’re just being emotional you probably won’t get the complete or positive outcomes you are expecting.
In fact, generally speaking, when you apply your determination to driving through with any emotional reaction instead of confidence, you are likely to get a negative outcome. Conversely, when you apply your determination to confidently making choices based on reason & intellect rather than emotion, you are very likely to get a positive outcome.
The takeaway? Whenever you find yourself a little shy on confidence, try to avoid reacting emotionally or with defiance. Instead, try thinking your way systematically through your challenge; you can get it done with determination.
Keep in mind that genuine determination – properly allocated & sourced – is an extension of your confidence, not a replacement for it. Just look at what happens every time you just confidently focus on the task at hand and follow through until it is completed? You make choices based on reason & intellect rather than emotion – and you once again succeed through determination! 🙂