When Effort Wins

if you put your mind to something and stay committed, you can achieve it. When you stay committed, patient, and determined, even the goals you once considered mighty will become achievable. The past two weeks have tested me in so many ways. At first, it seemed like I was being punished for something I did not do, but after I thought about it well, I decided that I am not actually getting punished. Rather, I am building myself. Here in my country, there’s something called NYSC. It stands for National Youth Service Corps. Simply put, it is a program for graduates across the country. The first part of this program is camp. The camp is a 3-week orientation program.

During this 3-week program, corp members camp with other corp members in big hostels. We eat together. Pray together and then we train together. All these are in preparation for the 1 year program, where corp members will get posted to different organizations across the country. Of all the activities we do in camp, the one I listed mod was marching. Growing up, I have never liked marching. I have always been terrible at it. On the first couple of days we were taught how to march and just as expected, I was terrible at it.

I told the commander that I wasn’t built for this; that no matter how much I tried, I still would be terrible at marching. I begged her to let me sit it out. But no matter what I said, the commander was stood her ground; I will march whether I like it or not. It was as if my pleas entered through her left ear and came out of her right immediately. The first, second and third day passed and I was still as terrible at it as I was during my high school days. I wasn’t happy that my commander was making me do what I didn’t want.

As if she could read my head, she called me separately and talked some sensed into my heard. At first, her speech sounded like all those motivational talks. But along the line, soemthing she said melted my heart. Her exact words were “Have you even tried?” That sentence struck something in me. The truth is that I haven’t actually tried to learn how to march. I had always had it at the back of my mind that I sucked at this particular thing. That might be true, but have I tried to change that narrative?

For the first time ever, I decided to give marching a chance. It came from the deepest part in my heart. No one forced me. I wanted it. I started or acting with my friends in my hostel. They laughed. I laughed. And something interesting started to happen; I got better. Day by day, I improved. I am far from being a professional, but I can boldly say that I am better than I was weeks ago. This shows how much difference we can make if we decide to put in a little extra effort.

Try something new today. Don’t just decide that you suck at it. Good luck!

Image in this post is mine.

Thanks for reading.