There’s an old adage that says practice makes perfect. Never
were truer words spoken. Ask any super achiever from any field of endeavor
about the secret behind their success and they will all attribute it to one
thing- hard work. The harder you work at anything, the better you will get at
it. This is as true of a Nobel prize winning scientist, as it is of an Olympic
gold medalist.
The difference between a genius and an average person lies
in the fact that the former worked much harder to get where he or she reached.
Somebody rightly said that genius is one present inspiration and 99%
perspiration. The mind and the body may appear very different, but are not
really. The more you use them the better they perform for you. If you use them
way too little, they will atrophy.
If you go to a gym regularly and exercise specific sets of
muscles, you are able to develop them and cause them to increase in size. Similarly
if you use your brain in a certain way that suits your purpose, you create
newer neural pathways that help you get better and better at doing it. Do you realize
the profound implication of this fact? You can be who you want to be!
You want a six pack body or an hour glass figure-you have
got it. You want to get admission in Wharton or University of Pennsylvania-you
have got it. But only if you are ready to exercise your body and mind
respectively in a manner that lets you become excellent at what you want and
get it.
If you are somebody just starting off in your career or a
middle aged person who hasn’t made much headway in life, don’t get intimidated
by how good or naturally great the super achievers of the world are. That is
all stuff and nonsense. They were all nervous and unsure of themselves at one
time as you are. Any flesh and bones person would be. There are no super heroes
in real life.
But where they were different was in exercising their body
and mind in a manner that they got to be the best in whatever they did. A young
corporate lawyer with fire in his or her belly would read as many books about
corporate law as possible. They would talk to senior lawyers, their clients,
retired judges-anybody who would help them get better at their job.
An aspiring Olympian similarly would spend long hours
training at the gym, talking to his coach, past athletes and Olympians and just
about anyone who would help him or her get closer to their goal.
Observe anybody they call a go-getter or a live wire. These
are more often than not, no different from anyone else, but what sets them
apart is their energy level and enthusiasm. There’s something magnetic and
arresting about them. How do you think they get that way-by practice, of
course. The same way that a quantum physicist perfects his or her research or a
trapeze artist his or her moves.
Sure one’s background, upbringing and financial status play
an important part. But they don’t play an unlimited part. What you want to make
of your life plays the most important part. If you haven’t ever seriously
thought about what you want from life, you should now. Because you can be what
you think.
This is not fantasy or wishful thinking. Right at this
moment there are hundreds of thousands of people or possibly millions dreaming seemingly
impossible dreams, yet doing everything to make them possible. And you know
what- most of them will achieve them! The ones who don’t are the ones who would
have stopped practicing and exercising to fulfill their dreams.
The power of persistence is enormous. Just like the action of
wind and water over millions of years can wear down a mighty mountain and cut a
valley or canyon through it, the persistence that you show in striving towards
your career and other life goals will yield similar results. There is one
difference though in the case of humans. We practice and hone our skills
intelligently and not just by mindless repetitions.
This means that after you have learnt one lesson, you
progress to the next one. If you are training at the gym, you don’t just do
cardio exercises, you alternate those with weight training. As you become
better at your routine you make the degree of difficulty higher. Similarly if
you are studying to be a physicist you may start with simple principles of
physics and then go on to study quantum physics. You study hard, and evolve and
don’t just stay at the same level.
Both your body and mind possess the ability to learn and
grow. You should take advantage of that ability to achieve your dreams. All the
same you should remember that it is all very well to talk about constant
practice and hard work, but very difficult to implement it. There are bound to
be failures along the way. An athlete may lose a race or two or a scholar may
fare badly in a test. That should not mean that you become very tough with
yourself and internalize all the blame.
Learn from your failures and get better. That way your failures too will
add value to your efforts.
Also never try to do everything at once. You need that Adonis
or Venus body; you will have to work very hard for a long time to get there.
You want that PhD in quantum physics? Won’t happen unless you work long and
hard hours to substantiate your research.
Another thing that you have got to remember in learning over a period of
time is to vary the routine. Try a different set of exercises or read a book by
a different author. Get a fresh perspective on how to better hone your skills.
No matter how well you are already doing set yourself
further goals to achieve in a time bound manner. This will keep you in a focused
and target oriented zone. That’s why organizations set targets. Humans need the
challenge of a target to put their best foot forward or they are prone to
procrastinate and postponement.
The human mind and body are like water. They need movement
to stay healthy. Just like stagnant water goes bad and moving water cleans and
rejuvenates itself the human mind and body thrive in a state of action. The
very physiology of the human body is like that. As long as the organs function
and the blood flows in the veins a person is alive and well. The moment all the
action stops a human being is no longer alive.
As long as you understand this basic rhythm of human life
and always strive to be better than before you will achieve greater and greater
heights. Just remember to keep shifting the goal posts or you will end up doing
more of the same thing. Exercise and practice is something that should never
end till your last day on earth. If you are a senior reading this take heed.
You need to strive to get better as much as a much younger person does. Set
goals that are appropriate for your age and work hard to achieve them. It may
be something as simple as going for a long walk every morning to stave off
disease or learning to play a musical instrument-something that could help
prevent Alzheimer’s.
Human life is a rare gift that we have received and if we
are not making full use of it due to lack of effort, we really are not worth
it. There is so much you can achieve-wealth, glory, fame, adulation, love,
respect and so on, if we put our heart and soul to it. If we don’t then we are
losers in the truest sense.
This is not a lecture in ethics and morality, but a
practical guide to finding great success in life. There is no rocket size
involved here-just the willingness to practice and exercise the body and mind.
It is as simple as that. If you learn to discipline your body and mind and
accustom them to the rigors of practice and exercise, there will hardly be
anything that you will not be able to achieve.
You may not be able to colonise Mars, but short of that you would be
pretty much good to take a shot at everything else. Never ever underestimate
yourself. You are just as wonderfully endowed as the shining examples of
success you hear about every day. Its time you became one yourself. If you want
to you will.
