Last Sunday a young woman gave a talk in my church. She spoke about her experiences at girl’s camp the previous week. At one point during the camp, the girls were given the choice to take a rather strenuous hike up to some caves or to wait at the bottom of the trail until those who went came back. One of the leaders instructed the girls that chose to go that they needed to decide now whether they were going to make it up to the top, not when they were half-way up and tired, but now, so their determination would be set and would help them through the difficult parts.

It’s a profound lesson. The way we think determines the outcome of our actions, so if we approach our goals with the determination to see them through to the end, we will succeed. If, however, we start out with wishy-washy wishing to accomplish what we want, halfway there we may find ourselves exhausted and overwhelmed, wondering if it is all worth the effort.

It never ceases to amaze me the impact our thoughts have on our lives. How easy it is to talk ourselves out of good things because we are tired or discouraged. Negative voices abound in our lives, telling us,  “You can’t do that; just give it up.” I don’t know why those voices always seem to be so much louder than the encouraging ones, but I do know that if we set out with a clear determination about what we will achieve, the voices have less power and we will have more courage to press forward. So, whatever your goal or desire, decide now that nothing will keep you from it.

Decide now that you will experience accomplishments beyond your wildest dreams.