EFFORTS OR RESULTS ??

                                              

                                                            

                                                    

‘There is no end of optimism’ revolted my younger brother.

We were having a discussion regarding the future course of actions, he should take, in order to achieve his dream of being a professional cricketer.

“Same applies with pessimism,” I mused. 

I guess, It’s far more beneficial to become an eternal optimistic rather than being an eternal pessimist. A pessimist will always find excuses and ways to blame others for their failure whereas an optimist will introspect and always search for ways to improve and hence there is no harm to err on the latter’s side.

My elder brother, an IITian, always has a different angle of looking at things (perhaps they discover these angles due to IIT). His statements are always backed up with strong logics and rationale. Being an aspiring cricketer, I, myself, know quite a bit about what should or should not be done while pursuing this elusive aim but because the younger one shrugs off (willingly or not) most of my suggestions, I had to seek out some help. He agreed to assist me, though reluctantly.

No sooner than the conversation started, it got heated up. I was quietly witnessing the proceedings and intervened only when things got out of control.

The smaller one has this nagging ability of coming up with those counter punches, no one else can think of, so you have to be on your toes, every time you are talking to him. Though sometimes, his statements are sensible too. But more often, he gives the impression that he wants to protest against each and every argument thrown at him. 

He rarely accepts even if he finds himself on the wrong side of the road as is the case with most of us (even if  we realize that we have been proven wrong, we are too rigid to back off, it gets to our egos may be- how can we surrender, it will become a matter of disgrace!! We turn into ruthless warriors and the conversation ends up as a battle.)

Manoj Gadia (elder brother) - God has given us infinite powers. Even if we think that we are doing our best, we are actually not, there are still doors which can be unlocked. We can never get to our 100%.

Krishna (younger brother) - I absolutely agree that there is always scope for improvement. What I am trying to say is, there should be a bar which gives you satisfaction and makes you content otherwise you will die sulking, contemplating that you could have done more. Suppose, you are studying really hard. But you keep taking intervals of 15 minutes after every two hours of continuous study and at the end of the day you think that you could have utilized those 15 minutes too. This is what you mean by eternal optimism?

Yeah. He is right actually. There has to be a bar which gives you some satisfaction and some sense regarding your progress. But he is wrong as well. 

"The moment you are totally content, you will stop learning and you will cease to grow."

I interjected and waited for Manoj bhaiya’s clarification.

Manoj – Nope. By eternal optimism, I mean, trying to squeeze out maximum out of one’s potential and there are various factors which you need to take care of in order to increase your efficiency. Rest is one of the key ingredients required to put your best foot forward. Only a crazy person will say that studying all day long will give you desired results. There has to be a proper method. Besides, every individual is different. There cannot be a set formula for everyone. You need to devise your own methods by analyzing your own strengths and weaknesses. As far as, a level is concerned, for me, there are two ways of measuring your progress and deriving satisfaction – 

1. On the basis of efforts. 

2. On the basis of results. 

The major difference between them is, while making effort depends mainly upon you, results are driven by a number of variables and so this one is a bit more risky. It’s up to you which one you choose.’

Krishna- I will go with results.

I go with efforts.

                                          WHAT’S YOUR CHOICE?????