Enjoy The Effort No Matter What The Effect

   

We have many desires and targets. We don’t always get what we 

want. Some of us are happy with what we get, and others remain 

dissatisfied.Still others don’t give up ; they keep trying. Which 

approach would be the right one ?

I would recommend another approach. You can have a desire.Put 

in your best effort to fulfil it.But make sure you enjoy the effort 

rather than its fruits. There are those who make the effort 

grumbling and are happy only when the desire is achieved.There 

are others who exhaust themselves making the effort to such a 

degree that they have no strength or enthusiasm left to enjoy the 

fruit. My method is : Enjoy the effort no matter what the effect.

My approach is to celebrate the march towards the destination. If 

the destination is reached,we will be happy.Even if it is not 

reached,nobady can take away the sense of thrill at having run 

the race,the delicious fatigue felt along the whole body. My 

happiness is derived not from reaching a goal,but from the 

struggle I wage as part of my attempt at reaching it.I am engaged 

in teaching the students now.Suppose I feel I will be happy only if 

they gave me a thundering ovation when I conclude my lecture. 

That means I am not fully enjoying my teaching, rather,my mind 

is set on a particular goal.That very concern may prevent me from 

giving my best to my teaching and thus act as a barrier to my 

attaining the goal.

Playing football is one kind of joy,winning is another kind.The 

problem is we identify joy exclusively with winnng. Classical 

musicians(like Pd.Hariprasad Chourasia) are so absorbed in their 

performance that for all practical purposes, they are unmindful of 

the audiance,the applause at climatic points, or the money they 

will receive from the organisers at the end.What they enjoy is 

their involvement in bringing the art alive,not the end result in 

the form of ovation or payment. So enjoy the process.Enjoy the 

travel.Enjoy the endeavour.

Ensure that you will be working smart,not just hard.Don’t go 

fishing in the bathtub.Don’t try to work up lather in a running 

stream.Instead,fish in a stream,and work up lather in a bathtub. 

Set and evaluate your goals,estimate the quantum and quality of 

efforts to be invested in attaining the goals,calculate the ROI 

(return on investment)quotient carefully,and then,if you are 

convinced the ratio is satisfactory,go ahead and work towards 

your goals.That is smart work,intelligent effort.

Failure is a fact of life.In all competative contexts as in sports,for 

example,one side has to lose.So why not enjoy the effort rather 

than exult at success or mope at failure ? I think it is better 

mental discipline to celebrate the success rather than brood on 

the losses. It is definately a healthier strategy for the future for 

anyone wishing to continue in competative endeavours.

There is also a spiritual lesson in every failure.Failures are 

necessary to remind people of their essential human 

vulnerabilities.An unbroken string of successes can create pride 

and a sense of invincibility about oneself in a high achiever. 

Remember the bragging,”I am the greatest” that comes out of the 

mouths of wrestlers and boxing stars ? As the common maxim 

goes,such pride always precedes a great fall. Surendering to the 

Lord is an act of bhakti — devotion, and surrender happens only 

in a spirit of humility.