The earth is being marched upon by over 7 billion people, a number which is over 200% of its inhabitants in a century past. Excellence and distinctions are micro – factors in being distinguished among the verse people of the earth. These two however are products of self – determination in a good platform.
WHAT IS SELF DETERMINATION?
According to IABC Africa, self determination is the art of wheeling self intently or intentionally towards a desired goal or goals, which are presumed primal for self – distinction. It is the ability to keep self focused on a matter until the desired result is attained. It is a virtue that can be cultivated, built and developed.
HOW TO BUILD OR DEVELOP SELF DETERMINATION:
Self-determination is a personally developed virtue with key interest in attaining and sustaining a desired result, for as much long as possible. Some of the ways to develop self determinations are:
PLANNING:
Wheeling one towards a desired goal requires frequent planning and re-planning. To ensure one is focused on a matter, one must draw out (either in writing or in the mind) an active plan which must include what goals to pursue, relevant sequence in attaining the goal, how to participate in each of the sequence, efficient ways to arrive at the goal on time and the cost and benefits of keeping focused on the matter proper. Planning boost determination as we go along the way of success. It is one thing that can keep the feet on ground when failure keeps showing up at the end of the day. Like in the case of Michael Faraday, a self determination to excel entails not planning to give up even when the results are unfavorable. It is the desire to see your goals come alive.
DISCIPLINE:
Discipline is keeping to what should be kept to and leaving out all else. It is the practice of sticking to plan without distractions. Discipline is shying away from distractions in a bid to accomplish a goal or set of goals. To intently move oneself towards a goal, one must be discipline to keep to what it takes to achieve the goal. Discipline entails focus. It is one of macro – factors in distinguishing among men in various field of life. Your level of discipline to attend to a matter will reflect in the result. Discipline is avoiding distractions.
EVALUATION:
Constant evaluation is a key element in developing self determination. Evaluation looks at: why one is at where he is at the moment; How to move forward; Better, efficient and energy conserving ways to attaining similar results (if positive) as one have now; and possible outcomes of next trials. The reason for evaluation is that one can be easily discouraged and hence lose determination if one did not measure the progress made so far, the distance to the require result and what is left to be done to achieve it. Once a proper evaluation is done, ones zeal and determination can be rekindled to achieve greatness by attaining goals.
PERSISTENCE:
This is lack of willingness to give up on a goal. It is a self – prompted resistance to opposition and insistence on a breakthrough or favorable result. Like in wheel, one’s desire to move towards a direction must be fueled by a pushing force which must excel above any opposing force. The inability of the wheel to excel above the opposing forces keeps it stagnant or pushes it further backward as the case may be. Persistence is the fuel for self – distinction, without it the fight for self – determination has been lost. To persist means to be resilient, to linger a while in pushing towards a goal expecting a favorable result despite growing obstacles or previous challenges. The ability to persist is one key element that makes men to excel in life.
Finally, because obstacles exist, self-determination is a key element for achieving success and distinguishing self among others in a particular field. As a virtue, self- determination is the quest to excel in any line of duty, one assigned to oneself.
