Nothing of worth or weight can be achieved with half a mind, with a faint heart, and with a lame endeavor. Isaac Barrow
To really understand this saying, look back at your school days and reflect on those subjects that you disliked, found it hard to study, got relatively poor marks and those that you desperately wished could be done away with. For many students mathematics was their bugbear, for some it was science, for others it was either languages or the social sciences. Of course there could be some who hated the art and music class and those not liking physical activities the PT classes were dreaded. What is uniformly true for all students who hated any subject was their half hearted attempts at studying, their inherent dislike and fear of the subject and the very low priority they gave to the subject.
Now look at those areas in your life which you excelled in or indulged in. At this precise moment, there is a feeling of euphoria in you, a sense of self worth and a rising passion merely thinking about those activities that you really relish. Notice that it is these very feelings and approach that have made you both successful and committed to those activities. In effect, this means that once we make up our minds to be involved in something because we like it, we normally give it our best shot and even if we don’t get the expected results we still enjoy the effort and resolve to commit to it again.
We can distill these feelings and learning into 3 broad requirements; passion, motivation and commitment.
Passion is what makes a person become deeply interested, focused and determined to make a success of his/her interest. This means that he/she will be constantly seeking out ways and means to be involved in those activities that are very fond of. They will also try to improve themselves so that they are the best in what they do because they are passionate. When a person is passionate, the person automatically gets motivated. Motivation ensures that the person will accept any challenge, work extra hard and will sacrifice a lot to get success in their passion. Motivation also ensures that people have the drive and energy to wait for success and they do not get discouraged easily. It also provides the energy to people to keep pegging away patiently in faith and hope. Commitment is ability to continue to traverse the path chosen even if it is paved with thorns. This means overcoming many obstacles, being steadfast in ones resolve and being thick skinned enough to shun criticism, negative thoughts and occasional failures.
The life story of the rich and the famous would reveal that without exception each one of them exhibited strength of character, had clear vision and focus and above all believed in themselves and worked to attain their goals no matter what the cost. Ironically the valor and sacrifices of our freedom fighters, our soldiers and our martyrs reveal the same sterling qualities. To cap it all the great sporting icons of those nation, the superheroes and heroines who have a large fan following and our well respected seniors and colleagues in the workplace also are testimony to the success story that they have scripted through dint of hard work, vision, self belief and commitment.
Remember: “There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”
Try this:
- List out 3 of your passions. Now for each of them identify 2 icons in that field, 2 new areas of opportunity to be explored by you and find out 2 new websites that will help you develop your passion even more.
- How will you be able to motivate yourself in your current field of study / current job/ current profession? If you are struggling and not able to break free of the shackles that weigh you down how will you find the energy and resources to be committed and be positive. If your current activities does not enthuse you how will you motivate yourself for a change?
This post is courtesy www.actspot.com
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