30 Actions to Increase Determination
Determination occurs prior to goal attainment and serves to motivate behavior that will help achieve one’s goal. How do you become determined? According to Wikipedia, determination is a positive, emotional feeling that involves persevering towards a difficult goal, despite the obstacles. Determination can be a hard trait to establish if you throw in the towel when the going gets tough.
When you do not have specific aim – no goals or plans – and tough times hit, it becomes easier to experience procrastination and low motivation. Determination comes from persistence, and persistence is being able to sustain motivation over a prolonged period. It is remaining constant regardless of your current state. It’s when you are persistent that you have gained determination.
What helps you to become persistent is having a strong sense of purpose, desire, will power, specific plans, and vision. Determination is a great trait to possess because it can rescue you from those times when you’re faced with frustration, disappointment, guilt, fear, worry, and/or stagnation.
What if you had more determination? What could you achieve? Where would you be headed? The “bend but don’t break” attitude is what propels us forward in overcoming obstacles. There’s one thing that I know for a fact: Every endeavor and goal will be met with some form of challenge. Some challenges will be greater than others.
When the challenge is met, at first glance, it will appear much greater than it is. How will you approach it? How do you develop the necessary “I can do this” attitude to overcome the challenge? Here are 30 things that you can do to increase determination.
1. Define what success means to you.
2. Visualize positive results.
3. Define how you can be a driving force.
4. Develop a strategy for your defined success.
5. Be open minded regardless of the circumstances today.
6. Identify and define your purpose.
7. Set SMART goals.
8. Set expectations.
9. Take action.
10. Be realistic and decisive.
11. Track your progress.
12. Identify strengths that empower you toward goal achievement.
13. Seek support when needed.
14. Be flexible and adaptable.
15. Examine methods used from previous goal achievements and implement those practices.
16. Be enthusiastic, optimistic, and faithful.
17. Do more than what is required of you.
18. Identify solutions to foresee obstacles that may limit you from goal attainment.
19. Energize yourself (i.e. taking walks, exercising, listening to music, meditating, etc.)
20. Set a plan to overcome demotivating factors that may limit your goal attainment.
21. Be curious toward desired outcomes.
22. Speak up and share your thoughts respectfully.
23. Demonstrate clarity and focus of what you seek.
24. Give 100% effort.
25. Move forward, regardless of criticism, setbacks, or fear.
26. Be consistent and persistent with taking small steps.
27. Be accountable to your commitments.
28. Show gratitude.
29. Explore different perspectives toward your goal attainment.
30. Reward yourself for reaching milestones, big or small.
When you think about being more determined, it really comes down to creating a plan, having belief and motivation, and developing a positive environment that embraces you. Think of your determination as the “Little Engine That Could.” You can – and I believe that you will – do what’s necessary to continue moving forward to achieve whatever your goal is! You need to believe in yourself before anyone else will!
Be thankful for the process you’ve been through to get to this point in your life. You are here for a reason! Your journey has brought you to this point because of your previous thoughts and perceptions. Those thoughts and perceptions led to certain actions and ultimately gave you certain results – hence, your current reality. Be determined to change your results by developing a more positive thought process. Each chapter of your story has been built upon that process, and it is up to you to remain determined to continue your progress.
