What makes people “driven”? You know, how some people have that remarkable tenacity, grit, determination, never quit...

I watched the Oscar Nominated “Whiplash” last night. I won’t ruin the story, but it’s about a young jazz drumming student at one of the most demanding music schools in the world. And he has drive. He plays until his hands bleed and his sweat, blood and tears paint the picture of determination on his drum kit. Over and over again. He is humiliated, frustrated, belittled, told to leave. But his passion is so great, his drive is so strong that he refuses to stop. And he becomes great.

Where does this drive come from? Why do some of us fall at the first hurdle, some of us make it several laps, some of us stop and start, some of us persevere through bad weather but then tell ourselves “that’s far enough”, while some have the energy and willpower to just keep going past all reasonable expectation?

If you want drive, then you need an engine. Your engine needs fuel, horsepower, investment, a mechanic, fine tuning, it needs to run, to be stretched and given the chance to accelerate. If I get a little more disciplined, focused, fueled, motivated everyday, if everyday is a forward acceleration, then before I know it, I might just be that driven person I always knew I needed to be.

Everyone’s goalposts are different. Some of us are further down the line. Maybe it’s in some people’s nature to never give up. Maybe it’s how we were raised. And I have realised that there is a difference between “really wanting” something, and “really working” to make it happen. The two don’t always go hand in hand.

We need people to help us tune our engines. Sometimes they hurt. To quote from Whiplash “There are no two words in the English language more harmful than ‘good job’” As a natural encourager, this is in some ways extremely counter-cultural to me. But as much as we all love to receive praise, if no one is telling us that we need to work, that we need to do better, then it’s most likely that we won’t.

So I’m going to keep on pushing. I don’t think there’ll be blood on my piano keys tonight, but maybe by next year. One day at a time.