INSIGHT · INSPIRATION · IMPACT!

3D Tenacity

How to leverage the elements of achievement by looking beyond your circumstances.

My youngest daughter is in her final semester for her second master’s degree. I couldn’t be more proud. Typically, the news wouldn’t be all that extraordinary. After all, people complete degree programs all the time. So, what makes her so special, aside from the fact that she’s my daughter and I get to choose the content of my writing? For starters, her achievement exemplifies the things we can all accomplish if we’ll just look beyond our circumstances and allow the power of our vision to carry us to the finish line of success. The fact that we finish anything in our society anymore is fast becoming an anomaly. The distractions alone are often enough to derail even the most determined among us.

My daughter is in her late-thirties — well beyond an age when most degrees are conferred. In fact, just thirty-two percent of Americans complete the requirements to earn a bachelor’s degree. The percentages are even less for those over the age of 26. Add to this statistic the number of recipients whose lives have been disrupted and the number drops even lower. Of course, the definition of “disrupted” is rather vague and does little to cull the data to provide any measurable value. Suffice it to say, however, that any amount of disruption puts obstacles (and justification) in the path to your quest for completion of just about any goal or objective.

Tenacity

The first word that comes to mind when I think of my daughter’s journey is tenacity. Tenacity defines the qualities of persistence and extraordinary determination it takes to keep going, despite the obstacles. The definition is rather generic as it should also clarify persistence and determination as demonstrated under typical circumstances.

Her specific circumstances, however, were far from typical.

Her circumstances required her to call upon a great deal of tenacity.

Her resolve brought her to the doorstep of achieving her second master’s degree.

My daughter’s personal circumstances would present extraordinary challenges and would call upon her vision to be so compelling that nothing would get in the way of accomplishment.

Her circumstances had given her plenty of reasons to lay aside her dream of earning a college degree when she received a cancer diagnosis half-way through her first college degree program. It was a devastating blow to the momentum she had created, averaging an incredible 4.0-grade point average to that point of her journey.

We all watched when she received the cancer diagnosis, wondering how she would allow the circumstances to change her. They didn’t. After absorbing the news, she quickly got back to work, seeking treatment while continuing her education, refusing to allow circumstance to steal her dream. To add literal insult to injury, about a year after her diagnosis, her husband was brutally attacked and hospitalized, putting him out of work for an extended — and very unexpected — period of time. Friends and family rallied through each and every unfortunate circumstance, all the while, watching how she would handle the next unexpected and unfortunate “situation”.

Without so much as a pause or second thought, she returned to her studies each and every time. Why would someone do that? I smile as I write this because, even as I watched my daughter struggle through the decisions she had to make for her life, I knew exactly why she reacted the way she did. I smile because it is a rare moment when we’re aware enough to witness a transformation taking place in our children as it actually happens. Her refusal to allow circumstance to define her had reached a point of intolerance that empowered her to dig in, even in the midst of adversity, drama, and distraction.

We can learn a lot from the actions and reactions of someone like my daughter. In fact, the circumstances I highlighted are but just a few of the major ones she dealt with while in pursuit of her dream. I should probably mention how she managed all these circumstances while also raising three children.

Superwoman? No.

Driven? Absolutely!

Hers is an example we can all take a lesson from when we’re faced with inevitable obstacles that come along and test just how much we desire to reach a goal. The fact is, we’ll all be tested. At some point in our lifetime, we’ll all be asked, “How bad do you want this?” How you react will determine your outcome.

There are a lot of people who are quick to declare what it is they want out of life — we all know them — but far too few who take persistent and calculated action to accomplish those things. The realization of our dreams lies just outside the border of our grasp. Fortunately, there’s a formula to realizing your dreams, and unless you follow the formula, you can dream all you want and never truly taste the victory of achievement.

The formula: The 3Ds

Dreams, Decisions, and Determination

• Your Dreams define your vision, goal, or objective. Your roadmap for success is driven by your Dream.
• Your Decisions are a catalyst in defining how you construct (or re-construct) your lifestyle to meet the course you should be on while in pursuit of your objective.
• Your Determination is the one factor that will make or break your ability to dig in when you feel like quitting. Determination defines those who do among those who don’t, or those who won’t.

The formula, on its surface, seems simple. But don’t let it fool you. If it was easy, everyone would be successful. No, success is hard. It’ll call upon you to change your lifestyle, re-prioritize your life, redefine relationships, and form new rituals and habits. But…it is all worth it, as my daughter will attest.

What are you in pursuit of? Have you declared your vision, dream, or goal and followed it with action? Are your decisions supporting your dreams? How are you handling the obstacles and distractors? Are you determined to cross the finish line no matter what? Follow a good example. Learn from my daughter’s story or anyone whom you can look to for inspiration. And know, without a doubt, that you too can achieve your goals.