Resolve means "I WILL;" two of the most potent two words in the English Language. In this week's lesson we will discuss how important the emotion of RESOLVE can be.
I still remember a Meet the Press interview involving Michael Jordan, who personified the word RESOLVE for me. His interview can give us a clearer understanding of how he used "RESOLVE" in his life. He explained how terrible he felt when he was cut from his high school basketball team. That's right Michael Jordan was initially cut from his high school basketball team! He resolved on that day that he would practice for hours each day on his skills, and work as hard as humanly possible, to be good enough to prove to the coach that he made a mistake by cutting him. Michael went on to explain that throughout his lifetime, whenever he was challenged or told that it was impossible to reach some goal or milestone, he immediately resolved to do it and prove his challengers wrong.
Another example may be a mountain climber who says, "I will climb this mountain. They've told me it's too high, it's too far, it's too steep, it's too rocky, and it's too dangerous. But it's my mountain. I will climb it. You'll soon see me waving from the top or you'll never see me again, because unless I reach the peak, I'm not coming back." Who can argue with such resolve? So a good definition for resolve may be to PROMISE YOURSELF THAT YOU WILL NEVER GIVE UP until you reach your goal!
It doesn't matter if that goal is 1,5,10, or 50 years away. Resolve means that from now on, until the day that you reach your goal; you will pursue it with all the passion you can muster up. You will not stop until you get there. Period!
Generally, people fall into one of three categories at any particular moment in time. It's important to stress that these categories are not fixed. If you find yourself in one of them, you're not stuck. It's your decision on whether you stay or go.
The first category consists of people with no resolve. The vast majority of people fall into this category. The reason for this is because the vast majority of people don't know where they are going. They just drift; and drifting doesn't require any resolve. They convince themselves that they are moderately comfortable where they are and don't want to rock the boat in any way in order to move ahead.
The second category consists of people who have resolve in spurts. These are the people who make a New Year's Resolution, only to give up on it, or even forget about it, by the fourth week in January. These people will come up with a brilliant idea, get excited for a day or two, and discard it because someone told them that it wouldn't work or they just didn't believe in their abilities.
People in the second category are good at starting, but poor at finishing. Once the inevitable obstacles appear, they fold their hand and throw their cards on the table. Once the going gets tough, they don't take it on, but give up; thus placing them back into category one with the vast majority.
Then you have the third category. These are the people with true RESOLVE. They don't just get excited for a day or two; they are excited about their goal at all times. When the inevitable obstacles appear, they don't fold; they find a way through them. They keep moving forward. They learn from their mistakes. They keep placing one foot in front of the other. These are the people who reach their goals. They didn't stop until they got there.
As mentioned earlier, these categories are not fixed. You can CHOOSE which one you want to live in. My suggestion to you is to choose RESOLVE. You only have one life, so why not go for it?
If you decide to go for it, then RESOLVE not to quit until you achieve your goal. Don't quit when your friends or family members tell you that there's no use in continuing on. Don't quit when you get turned down by a prospective employer. Don't quit if you run out of money. Just keep on going!
It has been written and spoken about over and over: If you don't quit, then help will come to you from the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times. It is Nature's way of saying, "Let this person with RESOLVE through those gates that are reserved for the "passionate few." Embrace the emotion of RESOLVE today!