Today, I am inspired by effort.
I have been trying to resource those times when I felt most humbled, most appreciative…and invariably, those times involved the effort, the consideration, the thoughtfulness of someone around me. Even if the gesture was not directed toward me, just witnessing genuine effort is an inspiring sight. Effort in a friendship, effort in a job, physical effort, emotional effort, and spiritual effort all, in their truest forms, are perhaps the purest expressions of one’s desire to be better, to move toward their better selves, and to feel more connected. Witnessing honest effort is something akin to witnessing someone achieve a tiny – or great – personal victory.
The thing about effort that is, to me, the most important, is that the effort precedes any particular outcome. The effort comes BEFORE the success, or BEFORE the failure. Sometimes great effort is met with unwanted results, undesirable outcomes, or crushing defeats. Sometimes great effort is gone unnoticed…and sometimes great effort yields remarkable success. But in any scenario, the effort is what comes first. Through failure, we are sometimes taught how to better prepare in our effort, and through success we hopefully learn how to keep doing what we are doing right…but when our great efforts go unappreciated, or unvalued, or unrecognized, well therein lies the greatest opportunity of all. When this happens, it allows us the opportunity to appreciate our efforts in and of themselves; not for any ultimate result, not for any reward or credit, and not for what we may even “deserve.” Instead, it is a moment to access grace, to hold within us the knowledge that extending ourselves for the greater good – however big or small the gesture – is to become tangential with magnanimity. These moments transcend the ever-popular messages of selfishness and the tired habits of empty competition.
Write that person an email – or better yet, write them a hand-written note or letter and send it to them.
Say the things you’ve been wanting to, and say them from a place of honesty and kindness.
Hold the door for that person behind you…and say thanks to that person who held it for you.
If you’re in school, study really hard and ask a LOT of questions.
Make that phone call and quit assuming they know how you feel.
Say hi to that person you see everyday but never talk to.
Every single day, move just one inch toward being a better _________.
It will all be worth the effort.
