The Effort is the Prize

A week or so ago at work, I asked my friend when he ran. He replied simply. 3 times a week with his friends at 8pm. Astonished I said:" But that's after work! I always feel so drained." He again dished out his wisdom matter-of- factly: "But that's all an excuse."

Seneca, a Greek philosopher once said," what you change inwardly can change outer reality." The conversation I had with my friend is just one instance in which it is proven true a thousand times each day.

It all sounds rather weird but I actually feel more alive after the runs I do these days after work. And the fact is, it takes more effort to take the very first step out the door than to complete a run. So where do I intend to go with this? Apart from passing my IPPT? Not much else really. But reality is often not so simple. To get better at something, apart from just going through the motions, this article suggest that one has to really love the process.

In the end, it's a bit like what my previous conductor in Hai Sing or really any conductor has to say about the SYF. It's more about the process than anything else.

“In the end, the great truth will have been learned, that the quest is greater than that which is sought, the effort finer than the prize, or rather, that the effort is the prize . . . ”
-Benjamin Cardozo