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title: "Daily Inspiration:”Fierce determination is everything!”"
canonical: https://jimcarroll.com/2026/04/daily-inspirationfierce-determination-is-everything/
updated: 2026-05-08T12:06:38+00:00
---

# Daily Inspiration:”Fierce determination is everything!”

*“Fierce determination is everything!”* – Futurist Jim Carroll

![](https://jimcarroll.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/FierceDetermination.jpg)

*The Art of the Infinite Pivot has been paused until tomorrow.*

A bridge is meant to be crossed, not lived on.

*Once you cross it, you’ll know the difference between surviving a setback and totally conquering it.*

I promise this will be the last post about my injury and recovery. But what a moment on Saturday! It could not have been scripted better!

Exactly 128 days ago, a severe fall left me lying on the ground with three fractured vertebrae in my lower back. At the time, I had all kinds of negative thoughts – skiing was out for the season, I might not be able to golf, things might go from bad to worse. I also know my fall could have been worse  – nerve damage, a concussion if I hit my head, and worse.

From that moment, I didn’t let the fear drive me – I reached out to various medical and sports experts to get a clear assessment of my condition and path forward. And I decided early on that rather than living in the fear of what the injury did to me, I’d build a foundation of hope for where I could go.

Picture this – just days after the ‘incident’, I was recording 5km walks on Strava of walks inside my house. 1000 meters at a time, headphones on, speed walking loops through my living room and kitchen. Just a few weeks later, I started “*mall-walking*.” Two months in, I went back to the gym. At the three-month mark, I began working on pivot exercises and doing actual golf swings.

St. Andrews and a tee time on the Open Course became my entire focus, my goal, my objective.

I put in the work.

The fact is, I was building a foundation for this goal of teeing off! Every grueling 40-second plank, every heavy rotational cable twist, and every disciplined swing in the simulator was a deliberate brick laid to cross the gap between a broken chassis and a bulletproof engine.

The ultimate payoff came Saturday – my son and I managed to snag a second tee time on the Old Course – my original prebooked one happens later today. (Two rounds!)

We arrived at the tee for an early start with this sunrise in view. I’ll admit. I almost cried with joy and relief.

![](https://jimcarroll.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/StAndrews-Sunrise-scaled.jpeg)

And our moment finally arrived, third off the tee.

![](https://jimcarroll.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/StAndrews-Tee.jpeg)

My drive was perfect. My second shot was too perfect, running long and rolling right into the Swilcan Burn. No problem – my drop had me chipping perfectly onto the green, and draining my 10-foot putt for an opening double.

Looking back, I knew I was on my way and that the injury was behind me.

![](https://jimcarroll.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/StAndrews-LookingBack.jpeg)

It got better from that point – after a bit of a challenging start, I managed par on the next hole – and then proceeded to play one of the greatest rounds of my life! (That’s not an understatement. I had 107 rounds last year.) And walking the back nine of the Old Course at St. Andrews, hitting 100% of my fairways off the tee, and shooting an 88—t*he greatest victory was that I didn’t think about my back a single time. **(*My son shot a 2 over 74 from the Blacks, and that came with two 3-putts on the last two holes. Remarkable!)

No flinching, no muscle spasms, no hesitation.

Nothing. I was just enjoying my time! And for me, breaking 90 on the Old Course was a remarkable achievement.

With that, the ghost of the injury is officially gone.

For the last four months, I’ve been living on the bridge of “*recovery.”* But standing on the Swilcan Bridge Saturday, a fist pump in action, I realized that phase is over.

*I’ve officially reached the other side of the recovery bridge.*

Whatever massive setback you are rebuilding from right now, keep engineering your outcome*. *

*The daily work is heavy, the data can be terrifying, but the view from the other side is entirely worth it.*