Determination isn’t a personality trait, I believe it’s an active choice. And oftentimes, you have to make that determined choice repeatedly. Especially when the work is harder than you thought it would be, and when you’re hearing more “no” than “yes, or when the plan you were absolutely certain would work… doesn’t.
Across my 20+ year career as a fighter pilot, I learned not to confuse a setback with a stop sign. Sometimes a setback can mean your goal needs refining. But, most of the time, it simply means the strategy and your approach needs reworking. Maybe you need more time, more practice, better information, a different approach, or focused mentoring. Maybe you need to loosen your grip on how you thought you were going to get there.
That’s determination, too.
It’s not stubbornly doing the same thing over and over and calling it perseverance. It’s being honest enough to admit what isn’t working, humble enough to learn, and determined enough to try again.
As Margaret Thatcher once said, “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”
And some days, let’s be honest, you’re simply not going to feel particularly determined. Your confidence will take a hit, and progress will be hard to see. Someone else will offer an opinion you didn’t ask for, or you’ll look sideways at somebody else’s success and suddenly start questioning your own. Those are the days you must come back to the basics:
Why does this matter to me?
What can I actually control?
What’s the next right step?
That’s it. You don’t have to solve the whole thing today. Just take the next step.
The leaders I trust most aren’t people who breeze through everything. They struggle, they get frustrated, and they definitely make mistakes. They have moments when they wonder if what they’re doing is working at all. But, they learn, they adapt, and they keep showing up.
Determination isn’t about never getting knocked off course. It’s about deciding your goal still matters enough for you to get back to work.
So, what’s something you still believe is worth another try?
