FINISHING WELL

PRINCIPLES OF SUCCESS Series 32

FINISHING WELL

How do you continue running, pursuing the vision and not tire? It all depends on you – what you do in yourself, to yourself, by yourself. Whatever people do for you or against you notwithstanding, what you do to you is what determines your ultimate success in life. Here are four positive self-functions that will help you finish well, successfully.

Self-Control. Personal negative attitudes – such as laziness, discouragement, ignorance, fear and sinful desires – will slow down your momentum. Self-control is the ability to master your desires and put them under your control. Use self-control to fight personal negative attitudes.

You control yourself to gain control of your life. If you don’t control you, then external forces will. The place to begin is your mind. Gain control of your thoughts. Somebody remarked, “Our best friends and our worst enemies are the thoughts we have about ourselves.”

Self-Discipline. Experts tell us that neither IQ nor aptitude test scores can predict later success in life. Because these things don’t measure self-discipline and the ability to work steadily at something until it is finished.

Self-discipline is the training of the mind and the body to carry out a task without distraction. By self-discipline you make yourself conform to principles that will lead you to success. Attitudes are formed and deformed through self-discipline. Through self-discipline you make yourself do what should be done and not what you feel like doing. A wise man said, “There’s little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself.” Through self-discipline you can be in charge of your mind and make yourself keep moving toward your purpose and vision. You can release the power of your mind through self-discipline.

Lack of self-discipline open the gate of your life to destructive forces of idleness, procrastination and discouragement. A wise man said, “If you would like to know who’s responsible for most of your troubles, take a look in the mirror. It’s time for us to stay out of our own way.”Another person said, “It’s impossible for a man to be cheated by anyone but himself.” No one can defeat you unless you first defeat yourself.

Self-Development. You’ve got to develop yourself to get to the topmost top. Ninety percent of personal success is made possible by self development. Your lovers, your fathers, and your teachers can do so much, but it’s what you do to improve you that lifts you in life. Somebody said, “The biggest room in our house is always the room for self-development.”

Reading is about the greatest habit that results to self-development. In order to develop mentally and morally you’ve got to be a ferocious reader. You can read your way out of ignorance and failure. You can read your way up.  A wise man said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether this happens at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young, but becomes consistently valuable regardless of physical capacity.

Reading is compared to eating. You’ve got to read to grow mentally as much as you eat to grow physically. As you eat balanced diet in order to grow healthily, so you take in proper materials for mental health. Don’t read junks. Read quality edifying materials.

Determination.Somebody said, “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” You’ve got to be determined to keep moving up. Determination combines courage with perseverance to achieve the impossible.

Determination is a quality of commitment. To be determined is to firmly decide on a course and committed to carrying it through. A wise man said, “The secret of success is to start from the scratch and keep scratching.” Determination will help you to continue scratching until you reach gold.

Determination is a function of the will. They say where there’s a will there’s always a way. You must will to success. The will is a powerful force that not only desires a thing, but also backs it up with commitment. When you add commitment to your desire, it becomes dedication. And you cannot be dedicated and not be celebrated. Someone said, “Great men are ordinary men with extraordinary determination.”

Self-control, self-discipline, self-development and determination will help you finish well. Learn a great habit: when you start, don’t stop until you finish.