Determination Drives Us When Told That We Cannot Succeed

Determination Drives Us When Told That We Cannot Succeed

For some people, all that is needed for success is a winning attitude and talent. However, for one to maintain the necessary mindset to win, they should be genuinely determined to overcome the failures on the path of success and to focus on the prior goal of exploring a talent. Determination is the ability to struggle for a specific objective, no matter how difficult it is to achieve. Determination is among the most important traits which come with optimism, perseverance, strong will, and a well-structured set of priorities. The first time I had to learn how to stick on, my determination road was when I attempted to get my first driving license. Everything about the “first driving license achievement” was tough and discouraging for me to get by, my parents, siblings, and instructor regularly told me I could not pass the test leave alone get the license (Pera et al 46). Surprisingly the “you cannot do it” mindset thrown to me helped me to work even harder and realized determination drives us when told that we cannot succeed.

As a teenager, the thought of achieving some kin freedom and responsibilities comes in a full charged force. As I watched the senior students in high school drive themselves to school, I yearned for the day I will be eligible to obtain my driving license. Then convince my parents into buying me a car and earn the power of driving myself through a calm, chilly morning mood to school. I disliked the noisy drives where either my mum or dad had to ride my siblings, and I to school or some other function and a heated debate about something always came up, and they all had to shout at each other and argue to our point of destination. I also pictured myself sneaking out without having to make a deal with one of my siblings to drive me into an event my parents would never allow me to go to and giving them the power to blackmail me with the favour forever.  Therefore, my motivation to get a driving license now seems petty than I pictured it back then, but when the right age came, I tried to defy all odds to achieve the goal.

Now the challenging part was that I was more of a nervous, unconfident teenager than I liked to admit. When I broke the news to my parents that I wanted to start taking driving classes, I remember how my mum somehow managed to hide her thoughts. Still, her facial expression passed the intimidation straight to my head, and I could feel myself wanting to change the statements. My father, on the other side, could not help but ask me “hey, have you considered how anxious you get sometimes? He went on to explain to me how the roads are filled with cars and people I have to take note of, and he even added how willing they were to drive me to where I wanted to go anytime I wanted to. Obviously, I couldn’t tell them that that was precisely the reason I needed to learn how to drive, but I managed to persuade them into allowing me to start the classes.

I failed the driving test 10 times, and instead of giving up, I increased my weekly duration from three hours to six hours. I remember overhearing my instructor tell my dad that it drives someone crazy to teach me even the basics that everyone in the class knew. I was smart, but in situations where I have to show my skills practically, my nerve always phases me. So I remember this particular time I got an old rude instructor to grade my driving and I started to mess up as soon as we left the parking lot which had a one way, one lane leading to the main road and it got him insane.  I kept driving in the middle of the path instead of sticking in my lane, even though it was only one lane, he was not happy. I was already on edge, but the thought of “getting judged” fueled my paranoia. Basically, the whole point of the test was to be judged for the skills, but it made me lose all the confidence I was deeply committed to keeping up for the test. As I drove through directed residential road kids were playing on the road, mail trucks parked in the middle and I remember playing the “don’t give up you have friends, don’t give up you not beaten yet” lyrics of the “don’t give up song (Peter Gabriel 2012).” I kept on thinking I should not give up because my siblings had done these tests before and passed, and I had to pass to somehow prove to them and my parents that I could. Nevertheless, that did not help since on that road there was a big truck blocking the stop sign my instructor intended me to see and he unexpectedly directed me to another way where someone came speeding past and almost hit me. I almost broke down into tears as I parked the car on the side and the old instructor looked at me as a failure. If it was in his power to stop me from going back to the class, I’m sure he could have done it at that moment. I kept on reading motivational articles to stay committed to my goals. I drafted several personal values which helped to work even harder.

The next major failure on the test I took my mum hoping the thought of her around would help me calm my nerves down. Halfway I was doing well, and she kept complimenting my progress which she might have attributed to her presence charm. Suddenly I could not turn the steering wheel the right amount to align to the curve of the road. I was starting to panic, and the feeling of embarrassment started to build up inside me. The moment I realized my faith of getting through the test was running low and I silently started to sing the popular “ Jesus take the wheel song” (Underwood, Carrie 2005) I prayed for God to take the control out of hands and give me a chance to go through the test. Still, at that moment, my mind was feeling with too many distractions, and I turned the steering wheel too short. The instructor looked at me and said: “you just failed.” My mom kept telling me I did okay, but on our way home, she told me it was time I gave up the driving test and maybe take a break and concentrate on other things. I was not willing to give on something I had tried for so long, so I thought of working from my strength and challenged my mum to give me a one-month training herself, and if I weren’t good after that period, I would give up. With my mum, I knew I was going to be calmer and drop the anxious feeling of not being good enough then I wasn’t always held up on a test judgment edge. Within three weeks under my mum’s training, I was ready to retake my test, and I finally passed and received my driving license. At the driving school and home, I became the example of dedication.