Hi all;

I’ve sent this to the closest of friends this morning.   The lady I contract for sends these “thoughts for everyday” out every morning…and every once in a while, I find one I really want to share.   This one hits more than any have since I’ve been here probably because of my own recent set of experiences.

Determination:  Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this.  For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and griefs which we endure help us in our marching onward.—Henry Ford

Aside from the fact that I love most of the quotes attributed to Henry Ford, this one is particularly poignant because of the choice of words he used in getting across his point.   In the first sentence, how many of us have heard different idioms for how failures make us bigger and better?   We learn from our “mistakes”, no?   The reality is, we learn from everything…yet we so often just like to focus our attention on the ones we screwed up.   Why is that?

Funny, it brings to mind one of the greatest golfers in history, Jack Nicklaus.   When I was a kid, I checked out a book or two of his from the library.   They were practically cartoons with simple instructions for everything from lining up a putt to understanding proper golf course etiquette.   Jack talked about visualization long before other sports figures picked up on it.   His chapters were dedicated to proper “shot-making” and a predictable series of steps where the golfer would, in his/her mind imagine (or visualize) the shot about to be attempted…from the club selection, to the stance, to the beginning of the swing, through the swing, and EVEN to the point of watching the ball do exactly as the golfer was planning.   It’s why you saw Jack take so much time between shots…he was doing just this series of steps.

Visualization has been around a long time…most think it’s back to Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”, but I’d argue it’s been around since the beginning of man.   Visualization is nothing new…for some people.   But it is a brand new concept for those of us who get hung up on our past at the most inopportune times.

So what’s the difference?   Why can one person “get it” and another be completely dumbfounded to the concept?   I think that answer lies in the “makeup of the man” – meaning, that person’s personality, which, tying back to Ford’s quote, is shaped primarily of a person’s series of experiences.

All of you on this email know I’m quite open about the fact I’ve been in counseling on and off for several years.   It is this “determination” that Ford speaks of that I so desperately seek.   As with many things in life, the answer is right under my nose…or more fittingly, between my ears.

“We must learn the setbacks and griefs which we endure help us in our marching onward.”

You hear folks talk about someone who’s hung-up on their past…or can’t move on…or, plainly “stuck” because of a particular setback.   I’m interested to know myself why certain heartbreaks are nearly impossible to move on from…what is it that other folks can do to move on while others feel that “affliction” for a much longer period of time.

Could it be determination?   Some will argue that some folks just deal with things differently, etc., and I agree that there’s not one simple black-and-white answer…but those that seem to have it made have certainly dealt with their lives with a greater sense of determination than I’ve had myself.

I’m interested to hear your thoughts, if you care to share.

Hope all of you are well this morning!

Tim