Is the Juice Worth The Squeeze?

Is it true that you can achieve anything you want? Yes, no, maybe? …

The answer may be all the above, but the real question is, “At What Cost?” Sure, you can probably do anything you set your mind to, but will the time and effort you put into trying to be great at everything produce the outcome that you hope to achieve?

Try Hard (er) and you will succeed

Many of us grew up in a world where people said, if you just try hard enough, you can succeed at anything. Or you heard, it’s so important to be well-rounded, it is the key to being successful. And for a long time, I believed this to be the case.

I went to a liberal arts school where we were required to study all types of subjects, from science to religion, from math to foreign languages. And I tried hard to do well in all the subjects, but ultimately, I wasn’t successful. There were some topics that just clicked with me and seemed to come naturally. There were others that no matter how hard I tried, it just never seemed to sink in.

Take for instance that summer when I had to complete a course in College Algebra. In order to even think of passing, I had a tutor after class EVERY DAY and on the weekends. I was as committed as I could be to doing well in that class- mainly because I knew if I could pass, I would never have to go through that torture again ( A+B cannot = C!! Am I right? 😊) The good news is I passed the class, but barely! After all the time and effort I spent focusing on a subject that was a huge weakness for me, I only got a little bit better, not exponentially better. I was never going to be great at algebra.

Focus on what you do well..and make it better

Ultimately, I got through those mandatory courses that I had to take and was then able to focus my attention on the classes that were part of my Communications Major. Why did I choose my major? Because I loved it! Because learning, studying and developing my skills in communications came naturally to me and I was excited to develop those skills. All of sudden, schoolwork shifted from a tedious chore to a labor of love, and I exceled in the subject matter.

And herein lies a lesson for all of us to consider. Focusing on trying to become great at everything is good in theory, but in reality, the energy we spend trying to get better at our weaknesses would be much better spent on developing our innate talents. There is a limit as to how much we can improve our areas of weaknesses, but when we focus on developing our strengths, we can grow exponentially and enjoy doing it!

Imagine being able to create a world where you can do what you do best every day. What’s stopping you?