Persistence. Determination. PMA

If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence. Determination. The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down seventy times and get up off the floor saying, ''Here comes number seventy-one!" ~ Richard M. DeVos

Success means so many things to each of us. Some consider one to be successful based on their financial status. Others judge by material worth. To me, success is achieving what you set out to accomplish, even if the journey was different than expected. Actually, most especially if the journey was different because that shows that you were open to suggestions, welcomed new opportunities, met challenges head on, and you were fully aware of your surroundings as you worked towards your goal. Achievement despite all potential detours is true success!

In my humble opinion, success could also be reached if a set goal is not attained but rather something unexpected was achieved - perhaps something greater, more beneficial to the situation at hand. Or as Ricahrd DeVos' quote suggests, you can be successful even through failure, if you continue to fight the fight, face the battle, strive to achieve when others may just give up.

While attending my niece Olivia's recent gymnastics meet, I witnessed the pure, raw emotion of personal challenge interfering with a goal to succeed. There was the expected anxiety brought on by competition, family watching from the stands, coaches anticipating high scores, and of course the typical equipment snafus. What I witnessed in Olivia was so eye opening, it was as if someone slapped me in the face. Even when we are prepared, when everything is lined up in our favor, we ourselves can be our biggest opponent to achieving success. And while Olivia's young age could be the reasoning for the uncertainty we witnessed in her, I know we all question our own abilities to succeed each and every day. The question is why?

Just as we encouraged Olivia to think positive, reminding her she was prepared, repeating the fact that her advancement on the team did not depend on her scores of the day, she continued to add doubt to the already challenging day. We've all been there, or at least witnessed someone we believed would succeed talk themselves out of a winning situation just through self-doubt. I can happily report that Olivia did wonderfully in her meet, even conquering her dreaded beam routine without a fall! And what her final achievement represented that day was the power of determination, persistence - the power of positive mental attitude.

Remaining self-motivated can be the largest obstacle when working towards success. Keeping an eye on the goal can detract from the lessons of the journey. Determination can motivate and it can also blur if unmet by a "can do" attitude. Success will come our way when we equally weigh in characteristics of determination, persistence and a positive attitude to graciously accept the lessons life brings us, much like Olivia did so well on the balance beam.