Monday, March 21, 2011
Lately I've been questioning the true value of determination. It's a characteristic held in high regard all over the world, especially in the West. Now, far be it from me to try to undermine the opinions of all those who have preceded me, but lately I've been noticing some serious negatives. Determination requires great focus and attention. Since we are imperfect beings, we cannot give our attention to many things at once - and we can only give our "undivided" attention to one thing at a time (hence the term). And yet, it is common knowledge that the most successful, or at least the happiest, people are well-rounded. Does not true determination contradict with just that sentiment? For example, the determination to finish a research paper often requires that one disregard the human need for sleep, which could also impair not only performance in other classes and athletic activities, but also one's relationships. Most people become pretty irritable when sleep-deprived, and may resort to saying hurtful things in their frustration. And all for one paper? Another example: "work-a-holics" (a term that does not follow the rules of word endings at all, but nonetheless has been established as a recognizable word) who fail to spend enough time with their families, and prioritize their carrers and salaries over their sanity. I am sure that there is a happy medium between exclusive determination towards one thing and the inability to apply oneself at all, but can we still call that medium determination? Is it perhaps more along the lines of anticipating consequences?
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A very controversial topic this is. One with a wide variety of opinions. I, however, believe that determination is a person's ability to persist through strife and adversity in order to accomplish some goal, whatever it may be. Yes, it is true that humans are imperfect beings and we do make mistakes I'll admit, but our determination is what makes us who we are. It is our determination that helps us accomplish what we need and it is this same determination that helps me get done my multiple tasks during my day. The way I have found to do this is that I find a way to focus on one thing at a time, but I make sure that I still know what else I have to do so I can balance my tasks with equal time so I get them done. My research paper for example. In order to get this done in time, I realized that I needed to work on it prior to its due date, which I failed to do every year... besides this year. What I did was I made sure to write at least three paragraphs of it every night for a week so that when the time came for the paper to be due, I was completely finished. The feeling was great. Also, I did this amidst other complications, like scholarship applications, Blue-Gold fashion show, and the always tiring baseball practices with Coach Smith. So, even though it is sometimes difficult to do many things at once, our determination has the ability to help us do whatever it may be.
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