The Law of Effort

Effort
"The expenditure of energy to get something done."
Webster's New World Student Dictionary


     Listen carefully and you'll hear that a considerable amount of people's general complaining is regarding a condition, situation, or relationship, over which the complainer has the ability to completely change or significantly impact. It can be one of many things from mastering a job skill, achieving a financial goal, changing a damaging habit, earning a college degree, mending a damaged relationship, reading the Bible more, improving your running time, changing an attitude, moving to another state, learning a new language or maybe even to stop chewing your fingernails. Over the centuries, people have proven that the persistent investment of intentional time and energy can yield measurable results. However, there is an exchange that must take place, a price.

     Sweat, currency units, pain, pride, in addition to time (life units) must be given to generate effort. We all know certain individuals, teams, companies, or organizations, that have made an improbable and incredible change by making the daily exchange required to push closer to their intended goal. They encourage and inspire us because their action and results provide irrefutable evidence that change is achievable. The willingness to pay the daily price to produce effort boils down to two simple questions. Why do I want it and how badly do I want it. These questions may linger and simmer for years before they are decided, but when why is clear and how badly suddenly becomes bad enough to do whatever it takes, a fire is ignited. That's the day of realization that separation from sweat, pain, pride, and time is worth the cost to pursue and realize the desired change. That's the day you get a small taste of how things will be different when that change becomes real. Feed that fire with the first few steps and embrace the burn. Every step taken towards the goal takes you away from the situation or circumstance you're weary of and takes you closer to the desired outcome.

     This decision to create effort is liberating. Once reached, the minuscule energy used to simply complain can then be burned in the same fire, as sweat, currency units, pain, pride, and precious time. Here's the secret, though. Small steps toward change create even more energy, which can also be used as fuel for the fire, that's pushing you to make small steps toward change.