If we go by the contours of the creator of this universe, it seems all great things take consistent time and effort.
This is a story of a young adult who in spite of being intelligent and observant, cannot concentrate his will and focus on one thing and excel in it. He is well informed about the conduct of life and what matters. He understands the value of brand building and the power of being at the top of any field, he pursues. He is an avid reader. He routinely reads books on willpower, motivation, power of compounding, and inspirational biographies. He understands the importance of consistency to achieve a substantial result. And yet when it comes to executing something that he had planned wellhead, he fails to achieve it over an extended period of time. He starts with full force and determination but his inability to walk on the planned path without getting distracted, puts a full stop to everything. He is so susceptible to changes that even a small distraction in the form of tiny environmental change, derails the whole project. He eventually deviates altogether from the determined path that in due course the goal looks too far-fetched to continue.
It often happens that the journey you are taking is too long and it’s hard to see or even imagine the desired result. And the way of nature is such that it takes a minute step each day over a long period to actually show some result. People don’t usually have that much of patience and grit. They sometimes retire too soon and sometimes almost at their destination. He is one of them.
The book ‘Grit’ very elegantly describes that it is not intelligence or smartness that sure shot guarantees the desired goal. The one with grit and perseverance achieves the goal. But how do you continue on the same path that requires deliberate practice, hardship, overcoming resistance, avoiding distraction, and snail-paced progress that is hard to see and celebrate? It is like all odds are against you. Yet it requires you to move in that direction, overcoming the headward force. Maybe this is how you achieve something big, something that gives you profound joy. If it had been that easy, everyone would have done that, and it would lose its shine and glory.
It seems the best way to look at it, is the other way around- if something is hard and requires continuous effort over a period of time to achieve it, then it’s rare and worth it. And rare is exclusive. And you have to earn it.
If we go by the contours of the creator of this universe, it seems all great things take consistent time and effort. To reach its zenith, we have to persistently move in the same direction. This is what it all takes. This is what makes it one in a million.
