Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Hard Work DOES Pay Off
There is a certain amount of cynicism when someone tells you that "hard work means nothing in life when you have nothing to show for it." But I always say, "Nothing that is worth trying for ever comes easy..." Hard work doesn't have immediate results..it is something that you have to recognize through time.
Take school, for example. Now that I am nearing the end of my undergraduate education, I realize that there were times when I didn't try as hard as I could have... there were moments where giving up felt a lot easier than trying. There were moments of complete exhaustion, starvation and discouragement...but somehow, determination and ambition got me through those moments - with a few shoves from family and friends along the way...("You can do it!").
I know that hard work does pay off... otherwise, I would have stopped trying a long time ago. The pay-off doesn't always come in the form of a grade... sometimes it's in the form of completion, recognition or even an overall accomplishment.
When I didn't work as hard as I could have, I knew I deserved whatever mark I got...I think there is a certain amount of responsibility that one has to take for one's own actions and reactions. It's always easier to blame the teachers and the rest of the world for your circumstances... but if something isn't working, then change it... take charge of your own life. Hard work does pay off...and although the results are not immediate, they eventually show up.
Take school, for example. Now that I am nearing the end of my undergraduate education, I realize that there were times when I didn't try as hard as I could have... there were moments where giving up felt a lot easier than trying. There were moments of complete exhaustion, starvation and discouragement...but somehow, determination and ambition got me through those moments - with a few shoves from family and friends along the way...("You can do it!").
I know that hard work does pay off... otherwise, I would have stopped trying a long time ago. The pay-off doesn't always come in the form of a grade... sometimes it's in the form of completion, recognition or even an overall accomplishment.
When I didn't work as hard as I could have, I knew I deserved whatever mark I got...I think there is a certain amount of responsibility that one has to take for one's own actions and reactions. It's always easier to blame the teachers and the rest of the world for your circumstances... but if something isn't working, then change it... take charge of your own life. Hard work does pay off...and although the results are not immediate, they eventually show up.
