The Starting Point

The starting point is Desire.

No change, no improvement, nothing worthwhile is achieved or attempted unless there first exists desire in the hearts and minds of those striving towards the change.

Yes, you’ll talk to people who say they wish things were better, that if only their situation were better, or if this was different or that did or didn’t happen, or how lucky others are in comparison. They’ll tell you they want to improve, that they are tired of the way things are and how…well, the list of meaningless excuses for non-action is limitless.

But unless they have sufficient desire stirred up within them to initiate and maintain any change in thinking, that in turn will change their behaviors, actions, and habits – then there will be no improvement.

The complacency of good enough…

…the comfort of familiarity…

…the old saying of “better the devil I know, than the devil I don’t know”…

…the small thinking of this is what I’m used to, or how I was raised, or that’s just how things are leads to a life of quiet desperation, as Henry David Thoreau states it. Years go by and towards the end of it all, if an individual realizes it at all, the regret of I should have…I could have…I would have is realized. But by then my dear reader it is too late.

I see in many people I interact with a lack of a sense of urgency, a lack of the drive – Desire – to motivate them to any meaningful change. And when questioned they drag out their favorite petty excuses.

The starting point is Desire. A sufficient reason why (the desire) is step 1.

Then, Step. 2 is Decision.

You must make a decision to act. Nothing changes until you change.

Third, step 3 is Discipline.

While Desire and Decision makes a person take action, Discipline makes a person go in the right direction, avoid unnecessary hassles, etc.

Step 4 is Determination.

It is your determination that will take you places. You see, persistence is the key to anything in life.

Your Desire, Decisions, and Discipline ultimately rests on how determined you are when you face obstacles and difficulties.

This summarized is the Four Ds

  1. Desire
  2. Decision
  3. Discipline
  4. Determination

The starting point is desire.