Losers quit when they’re tired. Winners quit when they’ve won.

Losers quit when they’re tired. Winners quit when they’ve won. – Unknown

Ok, so you crashed. Again. You’re tired, and you’re sore. You just want to go home and soak in a tub of hot water. But will you get back up? Will you try again? Are you determined to get back up and complete the course?

What does that mean?
This quote is about determination. Are you willing to persevere, are you willing to pay the price, are you willing to go to the wall, or even through it, in order to get what you want?

Often times, that is all that separates the winners from the losers. At some point, after having been knocked down for the thousandth time, the loser stays down. They are too tired, it’s just not worth it anymore, or they just gave up.

The winner doesn’t give up, they get back up and do it again and again. Until they win. However, winners also change things up. They win by trying a thousand different ways, not one way a thousand different times. They learn and adapt. And they never give up until they have won.

Why is determination important?  
Determination is defined at TheFreeDictionary.com as “Firmness of purpose; resolve.” How far would you have gone in your life if you had, as a baby or young child, given up on learning to walk, talk, dress yourself, feed yourself or perform basic toilet functions?

While some people have injuries or disabilities which prevent them from performing some of these functions, most people can do them without too much trouble. Did someone tap you on the head and magically give you these skills, or did you fight and claw your way to mastery of these skills, with dogged determination?

Why should our lives as adults have any less determination than our lives did when we were kids? While we may have thrown the occasional tantrum or fit, after a little bit, we got back up and tried again. We didn’t quit. And through determination, we made it happen. We can still do it as adults. The question is will we?

Where can I apply this in my life?
When I was little, I had real trouble learning to ride a bicycle. Once they took off the training wheels, I could go for a short distance, but then always veered into the nearest obstacle. Now I know that action as target fixation, but I just about cut a fair sized sticker bush in half by crashing into it repeatedly.

I threw a few tantrums, and tried to get out of learning, but eventually, I managed to make it past the bush. Once I got to that point, I was a terror on two wheels. I actually destroyed the bike by jumping it off ramps until the rear wheel split. I had to drag it home! But to this day, I enjoy riding my bicycle (and motorcycle).

The things we really want, the things that take our breath away every time we think about it, these are the things we tend to show our determination. These are our reason for continuing on. They are the reason we get up the thousandth time, the thousand and first time, and as many times after that as it takes to win.

As usual, I am presuming that we are going to stay within legal, ethical, and societal bounds, right? The question is simply “How badly do you want that thing?” How many times are you willing to get back up? Are you willing to put up with people telling you it’s hopeless? How long can you hold out against a tide of negativity?

A wise man once said “When the WHY is big enough, the HOW takes care of itself!” The point is that the root of determination is a dream. It might be the dream of a tropical vacation, or owning a beach-front property on a tropical island. It might be to get out of poverty or to get a record deal.

Whatever it might be, if you are sufficiently motivated, you will find a way to go over, under, around, or through any obstacle in your path. It might take some time, but you’ll find a way. Even if you have to break a brick wall down by banging your head against it (although there are probably better methods, look for a mentor, right?).

Do you have a dream on which you have given up? Can you rekindle the dream, or was it a wish of a bygone day? It’s a fine distinction, but you have to be able to tell the difference. Can you get the motivation back? Can you convince yourself that there is a way to attain the goal with the resources you are willing to devote to it?

I don’t want to send you on a fools errand, chasing something just to be chasing something. If you aren’t willing and able to devote the necessary time and effort (and money and …) to make it work, you need to work on your reason why first, or you will likely not be able to keep up your determination to see it through, right?

The question is what will you do when you get tired? What will you do when things aren’t going right, and you want to quit? That’s when your determination will come to carry you through, or it will fail you, and you will fail. If you get tired, take a brief rest, but then get back to work. You don’t get to stop until you’ve won!

From: Twitter, @tonyrobbins
confirmed at : http://www.quotesfun.com/2095 (plenty of other places, always Unknown)
Photo by gregor_y