How often do you care about what is going on around you? Are you consciously engaged in the decision making process affecting your life, or does it only become relevant when push comes to shove? I mourn for those who wait to be determined until it is an act of desperation. Dependably decide to be determined before it is too late. Sure, better late than never, but best to decide effectively earlier and more consistently.
People are not born brave, strong, and smart. These qualities must be acquired through perseverance and with determination, like the ability to read and write.
-Lena Mukhina
They seem similar, but they are extremely different, in a significant way, on the peripheries. Open-mindedness vs. close-mindedness. Seeing a best path forward while considering accurate and applicable adjustments appropriately vs. blinders on and bulling ahead brusquely and possibly belligerently. Determination vs. desperation.
If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill.
-Samuel Johnson
All of us have probably had periods of desperation at points in the past. What led to those pivotal positions? A poor presence of purposeful and persistent determination. So, rather than fretting further, fortify a firmer future with improvement moving forward.
Feel proud of your achievements, no matter how small they are, and create or renew a spark of determination within yourself so that you continue to work hard.
-Amy Pendergrass
We should tend to our flame well. If unmonitored and left alone, it can easily burn us when flaring unexpectedly. Brief bursts balanced with biding can benefit broader and brighter beliefs, building bountifully. Desperation operates at a base level. Determination can and should exist from an elated, elevated, enlightened, and enlivened establishment.
Determination and perseverance move the world; thinking that others will do it for you is a sure way to fail.
-Marva Collins
Consider the emotional perspective, too. Determination has you driving the bus while your emotions are seated as passengers. They can suggest turns, but you control the direction. Desperation typically means some emotion or two (like fear or anger) has hijacked the driver’s seat while you witness and white knuckle the bumpy ride.
Determine to digress and divert from desperation. Delve deeper into deliberate and diligent direction when detailing deliverables for the best next steps in your life.
Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.