How Do You Explain Personal Drive?

I'm sure we all know that one person who seems ridiculously tenacious and has an extraordinary amount of motivation? These people often refuse to accept defeat and keep trying until their energy is totally spent or they prevail. When they succeed, people usually agree that this person very much deserves the success due to their hard work and determination. How do you explain the drive that propel these people towards their goals?

I think it has a lot to do with the way these driven people see themselves and how they believe others see them. It also may have something to do with the way they were raised. Out of these factors, I believe the way driven people see themselves is the most powerful in learning about what makes them tick.



If a person sees themselves as capable, powerful, intelligent, stalwart and steadfast then it follows they will be more driven. Often these people adopt the trait of being a hard worker and go-getter into their personal identity and it does something to them that leaves observers looking on in admiration: a driven person who does not give up without a fight.

On the other end of the spectrum, people who see themselves as unable, weak, lacking and easily overwhelmed will tend to give up without giving it much of a try. These are the people who walk during a time when they should run and their faces aren't even red. They felt a little burn and windedness so they gave up and started walking. They don't like to feel 'uncomfortable.'

These same 'weak' people don't adapt to change well, either, while the driven and more motivated people are more open and ready for change. I would like to draw upon the wisdom of Drs. Tim Clinton and George Ohlschlager and point out that change in and of itself should not be the goal because human beings are fallible and can direct change towards evil or ineffectual ends. However, change in life is inevitable and being a driven person who adapts well to change is preferable to being someone who goes through change painfully and pitifully.

Being driven and motivated enables a person to be ready and more available for effective, positive change that will carry them higher. At this point, I want to ask you a couple of questions:

1. Who do you see yourself as?

2. When you look in the mirror, do you see a determined winner looking back or a deflated wiener

 

3. Who do you want to be?

Be honest when you take an inventory of yourself, but stay positive and remember that you can always change negative traits to positive ones. One saying I always keep in mind when I contemplate self improvement is:

"The difference between try and triumph is just a little 'umph'."

I want to encourage you to see yourself as someone who can succeed and one who has an indomitable personal drive. This is one of the only instances where the expression "Seeing is believing" definitely applies. Don't give yourself the option of failure. See yourself succeeding.


 Don't push it too far to where it becomes stubbornness where you're running into a brick wall repeatedly. Remember that brick wall in I Can and I Will? Improvise and adapt in ever-changing circumstances. If one route doesn't work, don't get fixated on that route that doesn't work, find the one that does work. Let the attempts that don't work roll off you like water off a duck's back.

If you find undesirable traits in your self-inventory, change them. Don't make excuses. Weak people are full of excuses as to why they can't. Driven people tell their success stories and help others to succeed. I ask again, who do you want to be?