The Importance and Rewards of Goals
Charles Romans
The Ashland Beacon
Dr. Jack Ditty of Ashland, Kentucky, recently retired after 44 years from a successful Dermatology practice. But retirement is a word that doesn’t suit Ditty, because unlike the epilogue of an interesting book, his ‘retirement’ could be better compared to the finale of a single chapter. Ditty, whose life has always been goal-oriented, is simply reaching for other goals Learning lessons and achieving personal milestones is something he has always embraced, and there is always another goal to be set and reached.
“Jack has worked since he was 14 years old,” wife Juanita Ditty said of her husband’s drive and work ethic. Whether it be shining shoes for his father’s friends or later stringing tennis rackets, he always pushed himself and gave 100 percent to every task. Later, when attending college on a tennis scholarship, he still applied that work ethic with jobs like delivering film and working in the dormitory. “Then when he went to med school, he worked in the summer teaching tennis lessons. And when he did his residency, he had five ‘moonlighting jobs. He worked very hard to make our lives better for the here and now and in for our futures.” Shared Ditty’s wife.
Juanita Ditty said she is so happy that her husband has retired – not that she believes he will ever truly stop or that his drive might shift to a lower gear. Rather, she is excited that he will have more time to indulge his other interests because he has a true passion for learning new things. “He is always learning,” she said. “He loves history and loves studying new languages. He’s constantly trying to improve himself, and I am excited that he is going to have more time to do other things that he loves. And of course he loves spending time with his family, and retirement will give him more time to do that”
The 44 years Ditty spent as the area’s premiere Dermatologist began with his return to Ashland, something he had always planned, because Jack Ditty is a born and bred Ashland boy. His roots are deep in Ashland soil, with both his parents and grandparents being from Ashland. “We were coming home to Ashland at that point,” Ditty said of beginning his practice. “And we’ve been home ever since. It’s been wonderful.” Noted Ditty. But long before he was a successful Dermatologist, before he attended med school, even before he was a teenager attending high school, Ditty was a young boy growing up in Eastern Kentucky and spending time with his friends and family.
It was as a young boy that Ditty began setting goals and building the determination to achieve them. “My first goals were simple,” he said. “I remember being about 12 and writing my first goals down.” Ditty said. Those early goals were things such as ‘don’t start smoking’ and ‘go to college’, which were reasonable goals for any young person to have. But Ditty improved on that goal with, in the case of college, ‘don’t get married until I graduate; a less than common goal for a very young man to even be thinking about. “10 years later my wife and I got married – after I graduated college.” Shared Ditty with a smile.
Written goals have always been a key part of Ditty’s life, “When I look back, almost every good thing that has happened in my life is the result of a goal I had written down years before.” Ditty stated. He gives credit to having been fortunate in some circumstances and to being surrounded by positive, goal-driven people for most of his life both privately and professionally. But he also believes that being goal oriented has helped to place him in favorable circumstances as well. Added to that, he said, was being aware of inherent potential and possible outcomes.
“When I was growing up, I wasn’t the tallest guy on the street. But I went out for all the sports.” He explained. He had learned the value of exercise from his father, a Marine Corps fighter pilot, so he had been active before trying out for sports. Ditty recalled, “I was in shape, but my frame was small. I tried out for football, but I could see that wasn’t for me, so I did not make football one of my goals.” The same held true for basketball, but Ditty discovered during that trial-and-error period experimenting with sports that he could run.
Ditty said he won a blue ribbon in a 440 race while in the seventh grade, and that the win proved to be very encouraging. He added the ribbon to a board he had in his room that he used to mark all the positive things that had happened in his life. The ribbon was still there, by then surrounded by other examples, when Ditty graduated high school. “It was a good lesson to me. It was a marker to remind me of the reward for hard work and training.” Noted Ditty.
By the time Ditty reached the age of 13, he had discovered tennis and decided that tennis was the sport for him. He began playing in Central Park and at the Mansbach House (which boasted a swimming pool and tennis courts), the latter of which he also worked as a lifeguard for five years. “It was spending money,” Ditty said. But it was also his first measurable income and the first time he could be responsible for his own expenses. That was a good, encouraging thing for me. It also made me very responsible at 14 years old. And I realized the value of that.
It was during that time that Ditty also met someone who would become a major influence in his life. He had a solid role model in his father, Ditty said, and he spent hours each day speaking with and learning from him. But it was during that time he met George Rupert, who opened so many opportunities for him.
“The most important moment of my life was the day I met my wife Juanita on May 5, 1968,” Ditty recalled. But meeting George Rupert and Professor Ross came in at a close second. Ross had a citywide tennis tournament, which Ditty entered and won in the 14 and under category. Ditty remembered getting a trophy for the win that he proudly displayed on the piano for quite some time. Again, it was an example to him of the reward for hard work and dedication.
The following year George Rupert ran a tennis tournament, the Jaycee Junior Championships, which Ditty entered. The tournament took place on the newly concreted courts (replacing duraclay courts) at the Ashland Tennis Center Again, Ditty won his division, which led to a trip to Murray, Kentucky for a state tournament. From there Ditty advanced to tournament play at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. That leg of the tournament was part of the International Jaycee Tournament.
The entire experience was another example to Ditty of the rewards for hard work, dedication, and setting goals. And it led him to play tennis for the University of Kentucky on a scholarship, which in turn lead to the defining moment of his life, meeting his wife the last week of his freshman year. “I met my wife Juanita on a blind date to play tennis. We met and got married three and a half years later. Then I followed my goal of going to medical school, and I went to University of Louisville Medical School. And two weeks before I started medical school, on Aug. 14, we got married.” He explained.
At that point Ditty had achieved two major life goals and returned to Ashland both married and as Doctor Jack Ditty. But in typical fashion, the goals did not stop with those two milestones. He and his wife immediately threw themselves into his practice and the community he never wanted to leave, working tirelessly to facilitate any improvements that would help make Ashland and the entire region a better place to live. Ditty has had many successes in his life, including a medical based talk show, which he attributes to the ability to set goals, work toward them, and believe that they can be achieved. And along the way he has raised not only his family, but been part of generations of families in Ashland, Kentucky and beyond.
He might have taken down his shingle, but some version of his ‘goals’ board will always hang on his wall. He might decide to travel, and he most certainly will be spending more time with family and friends, but Jack Ditty will always be writing down and achieving his next goal …
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