10 questions to help you determine what you really want

Unearth the power of a determined spirit that is unstoppable. Explore how determination propels individuals to overcome obstacles and achieve greatness.

“A Determined Spirit is Unstoppable.”- Lailah Gifty Akita

Inventions and discoveries are the result of determined efforts. Lifesaving technologies that we see today are the result of determined efforts by someone.

Achievers whom we see in front of us are highly determined and strong-willed individuals. The fact is, a determined spirit is unstoppable. Throw them any obstacle, and they keep pushing it aside. They keep going.

People who are determined know how focused they can get on finishing a task. Energy and effort will never be wasted when there’s a strong determination. And Determination is not being stubborn. It’s a strong, positive resolve to follow your dreams.

Determination is not just for the big things in life. For instance, take our daily. Consider ‘waking up early ‘to be productive, ‘making healthy food choices,’ and everything related to your wellness.

It all needs some kind of determination to practice every day. We can see people pursuing what they like even when the world around them disagrees. They do it because they are determined.

The point here is that a determined spirit never fails and never stops. With a clear goal in hand, people become determined to achieve it.

Is determination only about achieving goals? The answer is ‘No’. Determination is in everything. To be productive, polite, helpful, and supportive are a few ways people have determination.

Determination is good. Make sure it doesn’t cross the line and become an obsession. The determined spirit will need more positivity. Determination in life mends success and achievement.

“Treat everyone with politeness and kindness, not because they are nice, but because you are.”

- Roy T Bennett, The Light in the Heart

We remember people we meet in the walks of our life for two reasons. Either they were good to us or they were bad to us. In the long run of life, we ignore or forget the bad ones. But, we will never forget the ones who did us good. Likewise, we will never forget the ones who made us feel good. Just a random act of kindness from a stranger could last a lifetime. It invokes wonderful memories and positivity every time we think about it.

A world-class achiever can just go down to the ground within a matter of one act of impoliteness. People who treat their fellow people with politeness and kindness prevail in time. You don’t have to be remembered for success, money, social status and other premium privileges. Be remembered for your good. That’s what matters the most. Everything else falls in line when you treat people with respect, politeness, and kindness.

Another thing about life is, People always remember how you treat them. One simple act of kindness that you could do can change a person’s life. Always treat people well. It doesn’t matter whether they deserve it or not, you treat them well. It shows your character.

It hurts when someone treats us impolitely. Let’s not give it back. Let’s not make people feel how we once felt due to impoliteness. Therein lays our character. Let’s treat people with respect, kindness, and politeness not because they are nice people. Let’s do it because we are nice people.

“I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me.”

- Dudley Field Malone

Life is not about surrounding yourself with people who agree with you all the time. You never learn if folks around you keep harmonizing with whatever you do. You need to have people who can stand up to you when you do wrong. Only you can make this possible.

First, make yourself approachable. It helps people around you to express what they feel. It’s easy to gain genuine views of what’s going on around you.

Second, listen. Listen when people say you are wrong. Listen when people don’t agree with you. It’s a healthy space to learn what’s happening. Genuine people will not hesitate to point the mistakes when you listen. They don’t sugar-coat or brown-nose. It gives a space for you to overcome the mistakes further. Same way, while arguing, you can get to know what’s good on the other side that you couldn’t see. If people keep agreeing with you all the time, have care. Either they want you down or they are afraid of you.

Good Learning in life becomes meaningless when people agree with everything you do or say. There’s nothing much left to learn when you think you are right all the time. Don’t be.

You need to be challenged by the people around you. It’s important to have healthy conversations and arguments to learn about different perspectives. You never gain anything in life when all you have is people who say “Yes” to you all the time.

Explore the importance of surrounding yourself with people who value your dreams and goals. Cultivate a supportive network for encouragement and empowerment.

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that but, the really great make you feel that you too, can become great.” - Mark Twain

It’s a wonderful quote to live by. Let go of all the negative people in your life. At least, make sure they don’t influence you in any way possible. You can see a big difference in your life. The next ones to eventually avoid in life are those who keep belittling you.

The act of Demeaning people is a bad personality trait. It’s better to say nothing than say something demeaning or belittling.

People who belittle other’s ambition, dreams, characters, and goals forget one thing. Their behavior is affecting people mentally to a big extent. That too, the ones who have difficulty in handling emotions will find belittling to be a great personal defect.

It becomes hard for them to come out of it. To come out of this influence and achieve the dreams that you had is a big success.

Our life is filled with good and bad people. Especially, the ones who demean others are often found in all spaces of our life.

Be it professional or personal life, small people like them are unavoidable. Be with people who value your dreams and goals.

Great people will support you; encourage you to do more instead of demeaning. Be with people who make you feel great. Surround yourself with people who lift others as they lift themselves.

“Challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”

- Joshua. J. Marine

When asked how they want their life to be, the answer would be happy and peaceful including me. Is that it? Just a happy life is sufficient? Well, not really. Life also feels the same way. Life hits us with bricks and throws us puzzles when we least expect it. Life without challenges is kind of boring don’t you think!

Straight lines are not as exciting as curved artistic lines. Life is the same too. You need challenges in life. A difficult and challenging time in life has made people realize their true potential. We know how beautiful a diamond is right? In reality, it’s just a piece of carbon that survived under heavy pressure. We are like that too.

Every challenge we face and every difficulty we go through is what makes us strong and interesting. When faced with a challenge, our mind works like never before. It keeps looking for solutions and ideas to overcome the challenge.

Clarity comes concerning what’s good, & what’s bad. Same way, separating ‘right from wrong’, ‘need and want’ becomes clear when you are going through challenges and difficulties in life. When you overcome your challenges, you get a sense of content that no money and success can bring you. Overcoming difficulties will bring a self-trust and self-confidence.

Accept what life throws even it is unacceptable. Take it as a challenge. I know it’s easier said than done. But, when you overcome it, you can see how interesting & meaningful your life can be.

“Defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it.”

- Joe Clark

Don’t take your defeats personally. Don’t swallow it. Take the lesson, learn the mistakes, and let it go. Your Defeat will only look like experience now. Else, if you take your defeat personally, your ‘will’ breaks down completely. Taking Defeats to the core has made many people pull off from their dreams. People don’t realize that success could be just one step ahead after all these failures and defeats. I also understand how defeats could be. It’s hard to overcome. The next thing to do will be unclear. That’s why the defeat tastes bitter unless you don’t swallow it.

Have you analyzed how taking defeats personally have hindered you in multiple ways? It will break your will. You could feel like every eye is on you. Ideas of ‘what went wrong,’ ‘where did I lose it’ will not be on your mind. Instead, it brings the feeling of fear, embarrassment, and guilt.

Most importantly, the efforts you made so far will not come to your thoughts. Only the failures will be on the mind. Step away from it. Take some time to recover from the defeat you had in life. Understand that the time you take should reflect on what went wrong. Not in taking your failures to your core.

Everything depends upon how you take it in life. Consider your failures and defeats as just another stepping stone, and keep going. You are very near to success. On the contrary, if you take defeats personally, it will feel like forever to get out. Don’t take your defeats. But, take your time to get in terms with it.

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength not a lack of knowledge but rather a lack of will.”

- Vince Lombardi

Take every book that you know that talks about successful people. Read every story that you could gather about achievers and performers.

What do you see?

Not all are genius. But still, there is one thing common in every story and every book. It is their ‘Strong Will’. They keep their ‘Will’ up with whatever it takes and never let it down. With every test, they made their will stronger than ever. This is the key to success in everything.

The quote here is a wonderful detail about success and motivation for us. Don’t worry about knowledge or genius levels. Success takes more than that. True success comes with a strong will. If you have a strong will towards achieving your dreams and following your passion, nothing can stop you.

Questions like ‘Why everyone couldn’t achieve success?’, ‘Where people lag?’ comes. Lack of will is where people struggle to get up and do things. Moreover, success has a different scale for everyone.

In the end, if we do what makes us happy, it’s a big success. Whatever you feel like a success, it only needs determination and will to get. Unless there is a strong will, every attempt to get up after you fail will be absent.

Even to bring a simple lifestyle change and healthy habit, you need the will to do it every day. Imagine the level of willpower it takes to achieve huge success.

Successful people have a strong will. With others, the difference is the lack of will. Don’t let your will down amidst what life throws at you.

Read the quote "Luck is the dividend of sweat" and learn its significance in embracing hard work and seizing opportunities. Experinec the power of determination and effort.

“Luck is the dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.” - Ray Kroc

Luck favors efforts. Luck favors the brave. Looking for luck or waiting for luck will take forever. Instead, if you take a step forward in life with all your efforts, you will know what you need.

There is one undeniable fact though. The harder you work the more luck you seem to have. Maybe there is a thing called luck. But how far can it take us is a big question.

Let’s think about it this way.

Imagine there’s a door. It opens to a ‘good life & successful life’. Some people walk to get to the door. Let’s say people who believe in luck could think that they got to the door quickly. But, the buck stops there.

To open the doorknob, you need to give your effort. Luck’s not going to do it for you. Life is the same. To unlock life, you need to bring hard work and the best of your efforts.

You need your efforts to walk past the door. Hard work and efforts will pave the way inside the door. As the quote says, the more you sweat the luckier you get. This luck stays with you for on and on. Also, if we see, the ones who are brave enough to pursue their dreams get luckier in every step they take.

No offense to luck. But, true luck seems to be a product of sweat and effort. Finally, you know what; Luck often disguises itself in your hard work. Think. You’ll realize this for a fact.

“When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard’, I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’.

- Sydney Harris

If you think you are the one with problems, you better think again. Everyone you see has their battles to face every single day. Take a step back and see for yourself.

You’ll know that people who are less fortunate than you are more here. Problems that we only thought could happen in a movie plot, could have already happened to someone. We tend to blame life for many things happening around us and for us.

In reality, we keep forgetting that every good and bad start from us. It becomes easy to blame life and say it’s hard. When it comes to the question of ‘compared to what?’ there’s a pause from us. Life is not as hard as we think.

When compared to troubles people face to make their ends meet for the day, life is not hard for us. When compared to those who have challenges to face physically, life is not hard on us. From rags to riches, life treats us all the same. Life gives ups and downs.

The challenge it throws us can make and break us. Those who have nothing are happy and those who have everything are unhappy. Successful people today were all broken by life yesterday. Yet, they are here inspiring people around them.

If all those achievers thought ‘Life’s hard’, they wouldn’t be where they are now. Life’s not a bed of roses. Same time, life is not a bed of stones too.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the one’s you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”

-Mark Twain

If you don’t do things that you like, or if you don’t pursue what your heart says, you will feel incomplete. The regret you will bring to yourself could be huge. Don’t allow for it. Rather than thinking about what you did, your mind will keep thinking about ‘I wish I could have done it’.

If you have a dream, don’t hesitate to take the first step towards it. Sometimes, we will not be in a luxury to pursue. Obligations and commitments are realities standing before us. Taking care of them will be our priority. But, to balance and overcome everything to pursue what you dream is a great thing.

Indeed, it’s a life’s biggest deal if you ask me. Not just dreams. Starting from conveying ‘sorry’, ‘appreciations’, ‘thanks’ to people, we tend to go in a hurry forgetting it. When we sit back relaxed, our time could have been lost already. Thoughts of ‘I wish I could have spoken earlier’, ‘I wish I could have apologized earlier’, ‘I wish I have taken the risk’ brings more regret and disappointment to us.

For some people, the hesitation of ‘what if everything goes wrong’, ‘what if it fails’ stops them. Let me say a word. If there’s one thing that you don’t want to have in life, it is the ‘Regret’. Don’t end up feeling disappointed about things you didn’t do or could have done. It is better to face failures, risks, and challenges instead of regretting doing nothing.

1. Pick yourself Up:

Ever wonder what is so special about high performers or successful people around you? The answer is right here. They pick themselves up every time they fall. Staying there is an average trait. When you stand up, dust the troubles off your shoulder and walk, you stop being an average person right there.

2. Don’t be afraid to face life:

There’s a line we all have heard that says ‘You can run but you can’t hide’. It’s true when it comes to life. I hope you agree with me. At some point, you have to face life straight up. Don’t be afraid when it happens.

Don’t let the fear of like take you. Never be afraid to face what life throws at you. By becoming unafraid of life’s challenges, you become an achiever. By that, it means you have stopped being average.

3. Don’t be afraid of Failures:

You get things right after you did it the wrong way. Only after life’s failure, we understand what’s right, what’s true and what’s wrong. So, don’t be afraid of failures.

What we shared via these ten points will help you stop from being average. Remember, being average is not a standard. Being Average is like a mindset that is hindering you from doing what you want in life.

1. Stop finding faults with people:

Finding faults with people will stress you out. If we keep finding faults with people, it only shows a lack of character in ourselves. Genuine mistakes should be pointed out. In the end, it depends on people to take it or not take it. Instead, if we keep looking for faults or blames, we become a very average character here. Let’s be above that.

2. Always put in your best efforts:

Putting the Efforts is where an average person and a successful person differ. A successful person was also an average person first. With constant efforts and the idea to improve themselves, they became who they are now. If you have a meeting, give your best. If faced with troubles, give your best in solving it. If you are into education, give in your best in studying and performing. Day by day enhance yourself. This is how you can stop being average.

1. Be an original:

You will never be an average if you are an original. Be yourself. Show people who you are. Instead, don’t fake it. The moment you begin pretending to be someone else, you start looking for approval and validation. It will always make you feel invaluable. It makes you think that being average is bad for life. Avoid becoming someone when you have a beautiful ‘You’. Be original. Nothing beats life than this.

2. Keep trying:

It’s easier said than done and I agree. Life is not a fairytale for everyone. It’s filled with disappointments and failures as well as success and happiness. If failed, don’t worry. Every successful person in life goes through failures first. Take a break. Analyze what went wrong. Keep trying again.

3. Be proud of what you have done so far in life:

It’s not easy to live a happy sunshine-filled life every day. It takes a lot of effort. Same way, your work, studies, business, family, and everything will take efforts from your side. I appreciate all the good things you have done to sustain life so far. This will give a good vibe to move forward. Always, be proud of what you have done so far. If you appreciate your life, you will feel good about yourself and stop being average.

4. Retrospect:

Forget the past but don’t forget the lesson. Same way, retrospect your life to know the good and the bad you have. Yet, don’t stay there. To retrospect yourself in terms of character, your strength, your distractions, work, personal life, and everything is essential. by retrospecting, you stop becoming mediocre. You will see where you have gone wrong if you flip the pages back.

Being average is not a bad thing. Don’t fall under the so-called ‘perfection standards’ that are being portrayed around us. The comparisons and criteria will hinder your progress in everything. Stop being average when it comes to character.

Be a better person than you were yesterday. Stop being average when it comes to giving your best efforts. Life becomes wonderful when you accept who you are. Measure your life in healthier ways like friendship, helping, and having good people around.

Here are a few ideas that will help you from stop being average in life and get going.

1. Be an original:

2. Keep trying:

3. Be proud of what you have done so far in life:

4. Stop finding faults with people:

5. Always put in your best efforts:

6. Retrospect:

7. Enjoy what you Do:

8. Pick yourself Up:

9. Don’t be afraid to face life:

10. Don’t be afraid of Failures:

A successful sportsperson could be a ‘below average’ in studies. A path-breaking scientist could be average or below average regarding other fields of sciences. We can see the success story of many average people becoming successful business magnates. The list goes on.

It’s remarkably true that most of the people in this world are pretty average in most of the things in life. That’s the nature of life. In reality, remarkable performers or very poor performers are only around 10-20% of the population. The rest majority is all average people.

1.) Being average is good. It gives no lofty expectations, no judgments or looks for validations and approval from around.

2.) Most importantly, with no such burdens, one can easily pursue what they like and what they want in life.

3.) The thought of knowing everything brings a big ego of sorts. It yields nothing fruitful. There’s no denying it. In reality, not everyone knows everything.

On the contrary,

4.) If you feel like you are average, you build a mind space where you keep looking for improvements and enhancements. This tendency will grow further upon seeing even a little success on the way. It always ends in progress.

Most of all, one important emphasis here is, it’s okay to be mediocre or average. It’s as a result. Let’s take it. Let’s keep working on it. On the contrary, don’t fix ‘average or mediocre or being average’ as a goal for you in life. Life is all about ‘keep moving’ forward and keep improving.

Explore the benefits of being average and embracing mediocrity. Discover how striving for balance and contentment can lead to greater happiness and fulfillment.

It is wrong to conclude that life is only worthy when one becomes great or notable or highly successful. Being average is a great advantage as it opens possibilities for constant improvements in life.

1.) People who think themselves as average will keep looking for ways to improve themselves. They even become obsessed with doing better every day and every time. Eventually, this is how ‘up-and-coming’ positive people are made.

2.) The person who feels average will not have stress about feeling insufficient and irrelevant.

3.) Once you accept that you are average or mediocre, you will be free from the constant pressure to surpass everything.

4.) There is no such thing as perfection. Even a highly successful person, could only be exceptional in a few things and not everything.

5.) Being average is how reality works. For example: If I constantly wish to be smarter, intelligent, and excellent than people around me, I will always feel like I lack something. I will always have a sense of failure in me. This is not how you live life.

6.) Big peer pressure, approval-pressure can be lifted from your mind if you realize that it’s okay to be average.

7.) Top Performers will still have a feeling that they are, in fact, average or poor in many other things in life. They will always have the attitude of ‘should do better than before’. Eventually, they begin reviewing themselves and improving themselves. This quality is what makes them successful.

Don’t do it for the dress. Do it for yourself:

I hear my friends saying ‘I need to start exercising to fit into this dress or jean’. I quite disagree with them in this. The reason is, you and your health are more important than old dresses and old jeans.

Fitting into a dress and for that starting crash diet, heavy exercises are always unhealthy. Please don’t do it for the dress. Do it for yourself. When you exercise regularly and take care of your food choices, you don’t have to worry about fitting the dresses. You eventually become fit.

Exercising, Fitness, and Health are a way of life. You need to instill them as a part of your everyday life activities. By doing so, you will not need to motivate yourself into exercising. Find an exercise routine or fitness regime that you enjoy doing. It’s the best way to motivate yourself to exercise.

Your perspective changes when you understand the fact that exercising and staying fit enhances you in every possible way. Instead, the perspective of weight loss only puts exercising in a down shade.

Here’s a little summary for you.

Pick a fun & suitable exercise routine.

Start short.

Do it regularly.

Motivate yourself to exercise. Stay Fit!

If you ever feel a little bit low, go through the above-mentioned points and choose your favorites.

1. Make Exercises your ‘Me Time’:

Do exercise for yourself. Don’t do it just because you have to. Motivate yourself to exercise by keeping in mind that you are doing a good thing to yourself.

2. Start Short:

Don’t worry about hours of intense training and exercising. If you are a beginner, always start short. Spend fifteen to twenty minutes every day in the early morning to exercise. Start by going for a walk. Increase it to one hour and in time you can climb for more hours. If you like to go cycling, or play tennis, or do any physical activity, start doing it for about fifteen minutes. Day by day increase the hours. Even if you join fitness classes, a good routine starts with slow warm-ups and gradually you move up. Remember to start short.

3. Set reminders:

To begin is always a difficult task. Especially when it comes to exercising, our mind always thinks about going back to sleep again. Set reminders to wake you up on time. Besides, I use to keep fresh workout clothes and my workout gears near the bed for the next day exercising. It’s a little trick that I do to motivate myself in the morning to start exercising. You can do it accordingly. Before going to bed, place them nearby. The next morning, the workout gear will never miss your eye. Instead of going back to bed to sleep, this little trick will help you get up.

1. Start Simple with Exercising:

Don’t start with unrealistic exercise or fitness goals. You don’t have to go for gym sessions, strength training, squats or other fancy things right away. Always start simple when it comes to exercising. It will keep you motivated. Go for a slow jog. Bring the habit of early morning walk. Try good stretches at home early morning.

Go cycling in the morning. Try to do physical activities like this for at least thrice a week. Include healthy food choices and reduce junk day by day. Little things like this make the whole exercising a complete system. Start with simple steps to sustain a long run in exercising.

1. Fitness with your friends:

Opt for group fitness classes. It is fun, and you will always look forward to it. You will not get bored. Try it out. Fitness with friends is fun and motivating, too.

2. Try exercise mix-ups:

You might feel bored and not motivated to exercise if you keep doing the same routine. Mix it up a little bit. For instance, go for an early morning walk. The next day, do yoga. Plan weekly twice or thrice for fun routines like Zumba or other dance fitness programs. Depending upon your convenience, time and ability, mix exercises a little bit to keep going.

3. Knowing the Visible Difference:

Get to know people experiencing visible differences due to their exercise routines. Look how fit people find it easy to follow a healthy lifestyle overall. It should motivate you to start exercising. It will at least motivate you to try a simple fitness routine, i.e., to start with healthy food choices.

4. Exercising is ‘Self-Care’:

Everything that augments and improves you, on the whole, is a form of self-care. Exercising is one such way of self-care. Take care of your body as well as you can. It’s the one constant thing that has come with you all along.