“He is the best sailor who can steer within fewest points of the wind, and exact a motive power out of the greatest obstacles.”
Henry David Thoreau
Tag: determination
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Quote to Consider: Turning Obstacles Into Propellers
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Quote to Consider: Aspirations as Inspiration
“Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.”Louisa May Alcott
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American Idol Savvy: From Zero to Hero
There’s something to say for sheer determination.Determination to stay in the game. Determination to play at the top of one’s game.
How close to being eliminated has Anoop Desai come over the last several weeks? He didn’t get the votes to make the top 9 chosen by the viewers. He was the last wild card contestant announced and surprise 13th overall. His first performance was panned by the judges, and the producers chose to him to stand with Jorge as the next most likely to be voted off.
Enough to shake the confidence of the best of us. Not Anoop.
He worked even harder. His energy and determination levels grew. He pulled together everything he had to violate one of the judges’ most sacred rules, “Don’t take on a haloed classic.” And he pulled it off to their astonished admiration.
There’s something to say for sticking with something we love. Something we want. Something we’ve worked hard for. That others are doing better, getting more attention, experiencing more success cannot be the criteria by which we measure our own success.
Until Anoop is voted off the show, he is very much still on the show and in the running… no matter what the odds… no matter how well the other contestants are singing… no matters what the pundits think. (Who would have believed Taylor Hicks had a chance?)
Going from zero to hero involves not giving up on yourself. Are you pulling out of the game when you need to be adjusting your strategy and pushing harder? Are you disqualifying yourself by letting discouragement, long odds, or criticism from the sidelines drag you down?
You know you’re good. You know you have a lot to offer.
What do you do to up your game, bolster your confidence, or push from a different direction? What do you need to go from zero to hero?
On your side,
– Karl
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Two Keys to Perseverance
Perseverance is not always a matter of mustering sheer will power.While determination on our part is crucial, we come up against obstacles, opposition, and constraints that hold us back, sabotage our efforts and attack our spirit. What once felt like an indomitable fount of energy, creativity and genius slowly crumbles beneath us even as we scramble for higher ground.
I‘ve been learning that perseverance requires tactical preparedness, as well as inner strengthening.
More than sheer commitment to our own project or dream, we need to be aware and savvy about the people and forces that work against us. We have to including contingencies in our planning to account for opposition, and initiatives to head off anything we can anticipate in the way of trouble.
There is no room for naive idealism. To deny the reality of difficulties is to participate in one’s own defeat.
We also need an inexhaustible spirit and strength of character. Such inner resources don’t appear from nowhere. Two lifelong tasks to this end are: 1.) digging a deep well of resources that restore, refresh and renew you, and 2.) learning to draw on those resources when needed.
Which is your stronger suit when mustering the determination to push forward in spite of all that would hold you back? Do you lean on your sound planning or your inner tenacity? What might we learn from your success in persevering?