“Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.”—Booker T. Washington
Entitlement is a word that gets thrown around a lot lately. We all hold a bit of it from time to time. We expect to get something in this life. Few of us, it might seem, recognize that we reap in proportion to what we sow. In other words, work hard and it will pay off in the end. Right?
It would be wonderful if we always received in proportion to the effort we apply, but, in the real world, it doesn’t. There are always those who toil and never seem to get a break. There are those who do little, but reap great reward. Life is hard. Sometimes it is much like a vacuum cleaner. But, it is what it is. We can hope to get what we earn, but sometimes, in the words of Forrest Gump, “it happens.”
In the world of sports, there can only be one victor. Athletes work very hard and rise to great levels, but only one gets the gold medal or wins the championship. Sure, we can say that the team or athlete with the most points deserves the trophy, but did the other team/athlete deserve it less? Both, it could be presumed worked very hard to get to where they are. Maybe, the victor prepared a bit more, but there are numerous contests that could have gone either way. Does having a bit more luck at the right moment make one more deserving of reward? I would say not.
But this is life. We work our tails off (hopefully) and more often than not receive less than we deserve. It seems unfair that athletes are negotiating eight-figure contracts and some teachers are working two jobs. But it is what it is. One can complain, but to what avail?
If we feel as though we are not getting a “fair deal”, we have options: 1) whine about it, 2) accept it, or 3) do something about it. In most cases, option 3 is the best, but the one we are least willing to choose. And doing something about it does not always mean we will better our situation. The grass is not always greener.
Personally, I would prefer to be in a situation where I am not getting what I feel I have earned. Sure, I might dream of riches, success, and an “easy life”, but I know that it would get old. (Maybe not right away.) We are wired to be productive. If we are not getting what we feel we earned, this suggests (though not always—we often need to check ourselves) that we are working hard. Hard work pays, but rarely what we are asking.
It is easy to choose option 1 and whine about our circumstances. Perhaps, it is justified. What, however, does whining accomplish? Nothing. Nothing other than to worsen our attitude.
If we are to be (extra)ordinary, we are to challenge our limitations. We must put in more effort than the return we are to receive. It we expect less than our effort demands, we will on occasion be surprised by receiving more.
“Be your best today; be better tomorrow” can lead to championships and financial success, but for most it will likely lead only to self-satisfaction and a good night’s sleep. In the end, for what more can we realistically ask?
Carpe momento!
“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”—Theodore Roosevelt
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