36 - Saying it's the effort that counts

On the one hand, I can understand the intention behind such a statement. When people don't achieve very much they at least achieve in spirit because they tried their best. If they don't attain the perfect results, at least God or karma or the universe won't hold it against them and perhaps will provide them with some sort of reward later in life. You've succeeded even though you didn't win the match or get a higher mark than that classmate or get the big promotion before that other guy.

But the saying, it's not the destination that matters, it's the journey taken, really doesn't make anyone feel genuinely better. When people are upset with the bad turnout, parents, teachers, bosses, sports coaches, personal trainers, so on and so forth are actually sending them a really disturbing message. They've tried their best. They've put in all their hard work. They've done everything they could in the best possible way yet they still fail at what they're doing. Isn't that just troubling?

What makes me angry is the fact that sometimes, it is the achievement that counts. You're not going to pass an examination or get your ass out of high school and into a university by telling your teachers you tried your best and insisting that your mere effort should magically grant you good rewards that could've/should've/would've been earned in the conventional way like everybody else. You're not going to be a successful parent if all your blood, sweat and tears go toward raising a child only to still make for a disobedient and disrespectful teenager/adult You're never going to get a job if all you've got on your curriculum vitae is a long list of adjectives like 'independent', 'diligent', 'creative', etc... that completely encapsulates your personality and supposedly renders you perfect for the job, when what you really need are the qualifications, the degrees and the experience to make you suitable for a particular occupation.

So don't tell others it's the effort that counts and tell those that do say it that it doesn't achieve anything. Hard work is a good thing to do, but it's merely a good thing to do. I know that the effort doesn't count in most cases, so saying that it does is extremely necessary.

Personally, though, I don't think it's the effort that counts in any case. It is the attainment that will get you places. The effort is for you to have in your memory, to enhance your experience and perhaps evoke the feeling that you earned whatever you earned. What makes me happy is the result, the answer at the very end of the equation that shows me whether or not what I'm doing is right or wrong. Effort doesn't come into that equation at all and if I fail, then it's my working out that's gone wrong.

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14 - My Favorite Food.