What’s worse?
a) Working really hard and achieving something that you in the end feel wasn’t really worth the effort but in fact a bit of a waste of time,
OR
b) Giving up on something that you’d really like to do just because it’s difficult (or because you’re not sure whether it will be worth the effort) and then wondering what it would have been like if you hadn’t given up?
None of the above two is an ideal situation to be in. An ideal situation to be in would be to have worked really hard and achieved your target and then finding it to be every bit worth the effort!! However, as is the case with all things ideal, this situation too is extremely rare. So what most of us usually find ourselves in is one of the non-ideal situations mentioned above. Which one would you choose to be in?
It’s hard to be motivated about something unless you know it is sure to work well for you. Difficulty usually decreases your chances of success and that’s why giving up seems like a very easy choice. However, that’s not what I’m concerned with here. Assuming that you are going to be successful at a supposedly difficult task, if you are not sure whether the success would ‘mean that much to you’, it’s kind of difficult to find the motivation to go for it. You can’t expect to ‘gain’ a lot in such cases. However there might be another reason to do it. THE CHALLENGE. If it’s not easy, it’s usually interesting. Even if it’s not interesting, you feel good about yourself when you accomplish such a feat. If it gives you nothing else, it gives you confidence.
Let’s not forget the other side of the coin. Sometimes, it may so happen, that you might fail ( i know it’s crazy but let’s keep our intent of all positivity aside for a moment and consider the possibility). You’re failing, at a task you weren’t even sure of going for in the first place. That is bound to feel like an awful waste of time and energy. Would you be willing to incur that cost?
Now let’s consider the first option. Giving up because the idea may or may not work for you. Well there’s only one way to find out! If you give up,
a) you might save yourself some precious time which you can use to amuse yourself
b) you might be saving yourself from frustration and bitter disappointment of failure
At the same time,
c) you miss out on an opportunity to succeed in endeavour
d) you will be missing a chance to learn and gain some valuable experience
e) you will definitely find yourself wondering what might have happened if you had gone for it.
If you ask me, I can live knowing that I missed a chance to succeed, I can also get over having missed a chance to learn but I can never stop wondering what might have happened if I had just tried. It’s just too big a price to pay. Moreover do you really expect to be always sure of success? Do you always expect life to give you exactly the chance you need? That almost never happens. How do people become successful? They take the chances they get and try to make the most of them. Sometimes their effort pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. What makes the difference is the fact that those people realised that sometimes the result doesn’t measure up to the effort but that’s no reason to stop trying.
