Note: This article is by Tyler Tervooren, author and founder of Riskology, who tells us about his experience in developing his determination and patience to achieve success.
I asked my parents if I could upgrade the RAM because the computer was slower than I wanted, but their definite answer was "No." It was an expensive machine that surprised my mother, and my father was amazed at its cost, and I should never mess with it.
Therefore, my exploration of this machine became a series of covert operations. My parents would come home from work two hours after I got home from school, and I would spend that time with a flashlight and a small screwdriver I had stolen from the garage to disassemble and examine the many parts inside the computer carefully.
I planned my tasks to have enough time to put the pieces back together before anyone got home. Sometimes, I made a mistake or someone came home early, and there were days when the computer didn't work at all because I was about to get caught as I hastened to return the cover of the personal computer, hiding all its pieces under my bed, so that I can return to it the next day. My mom and dad only used the computer a little, so I was never caught.
When I was in high school - and after a two-year pleading campaign - we finally got the Internet. I immediately started doing things I wasn't supposed to do (stealing music) and got a virus into the operating system.
But how did I fix it? I figured out how to get to all the OS files and started deleting them, one by one, to see what worked. I must have crashed the whole machine a hundred times, but each time, I kept a note of what worked and what didn't, restarted the OS, and started over. In the end, I removed the virus.
Today, I am comfortable and ready to fix almost any problem, not just computer problems. The skills I learned breaking and fixing that old computer helped me fix my bike, my car, my website, my washing machine, my iPhone, and even things like travel plans and the general difficulties of life. It was part of my "don't have things you can't fix" plan.
Today, I attribute most of my problem-solving skills to the disruptive skills I developed as a child. When I broke something, I kept working on fixing it because I knew it would upset my parents. That's called determination, the ability to sit quietly, be patient, and keep working on a difficult task until it's finished, despite the setbacks.
Recent research have proven that it is not only determination that is an essential factor in professional and personal success and that you do not have to be a genius to achieve it. Those with determination and strong character can outperform the more intelligent people without it.
Determination or audacity: The personality trait that trumps genius
Many years ago, a few social researchers wanted to know what leads to professional success besides IQ and why some people with lower IQs perform better on tests, at work, and in life than those with higher IQs. They hypothesized that perseverance pushed some of them forward.
So, they tested adult students from West Point Academy, Ivy League schools, and National spelling bee competitors.
What they found was astonishing. IQ alone could not accurately predict achievement, but when IQ was measured in addition to personality traits, those with determination performed better in areas of life that required sustained effort under challenging circumstances. So natural intelligence only matters a little if you don't have the guts and determination to follow through when things get tough. A lot of persistence and determination can overcome a lack of natural intelligence.
This is excellent news for people who could be more intelligent, like me. I can't increase my intelligence, but I can improve my stamina and 'hold on' to complex tasks. Taking apart and frustratingly reassembling my computer in my early days helped me build the determination I have today, but I can develop more.
Here's what you can do to improve yourself, regardless of age, social status, IQ, or any other circumstance.
Easy mental exercises to develop determination
As an adventurer, being able to take difficult times and turn them into happy endings is an essential part of success now and in the long run. Here are some of the things you can do right now to develop your determination and turn it into one of your most vital personality traits:
1. Increasing interest in how daily things are done
Take one of your electrical machines apart and put it back together to see if you can. Try to look at the world as you did when you were a kid. You didn't accept that things were just ready and working in front of you, but you wanted to know how they worked and why.
This exploration may end with some things broken, but it will not be the end of the world, as you have learned how to fix things, which has strengthened your confidence in your abilities. Developing your determination starts with wanting to understand the world around you, so you know what to do when something isn't working.
2. Learning something new every day
To get better at solving problems, your brain needs regular stimulation, and you have to prove to yourself that you can still learn new things and most importantly, that you enjoy learning new things.
To do this, get used to learning something new daily, and keep a notebook or notepad on your phone with some general questions. Maybe you had a conversation with someone, and you needed help understanding some of what they said. You may have heard someone say a word you didn't know, so write it down, review your notes once a day, and find a question to answer.
It could be as simple as reading a Wikipedia article or asking a coworker to explain something. The effect on your brain is that you build confidence in your ability to uncover new information.
3. Challenging yourself to solve a minor problem every day
In addition to learning something new, set a goal to solve a small problem in your life each day, organize files on your computer so you can find things faster, tighten loose door bolts, or set a budget for a project.
Do something every day that improves your life, even if it's simple. By combining this step with the previous step, your brain will get used to learning something new and applying new information to create a better life. Adopting this method is the determination you need to overcome the most demanding challenges you will undoubtedly face.
Your job now is to take something apart and put it back together again
Building determination and increasing your stamina to solve problems is something you can only do by reading an article online. As a wise and experienced risk taker, your duty today is to find something you own - like a project - and then:
- Disassemble it.
- Look at every piece of it.
- Then put it back together again. Success and reward is when it returns to work as it was.
You can start with a low-risk adventure, don't disassemble your car or computer. Try a small kitchen appliance, or look in your old electronics box for something you don't use anymore. Make sure you put it back together when you're done, and tell us how it went.
Add comment