Power Of Effort

What is effort? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, effort is “conscious exertion of power : hard work” but it is much more than that. Effort is getting up in the morning and trying. Effort is giving it your all when you feel like you can’t do anything, Effort is doing what you can how you can always. I’ve learned that the amount of effort you put in affects the result of what you put effort into. 

Everyone can control their own effort. It turns out that most can be blamed on how much you put into it. I learned this when looking into whatever I wish happened differently, I was able to see that I did not make the effort I believe I should have put into it. Whether it’s sports or school, or work. It’s all about showing up and trying your best. aThe best athletes are the ones who get up and try when no one else wants to or is. Giving your all for yourself to be the best for yourself

Effort is much like a roller coaster. It goes up, down and all over the place, the progress from giving more effort is also like a roller coaster.  Some days you can give it your all and some days you feel like you can barely do anything. And that is okay, It is perfectly okay. I can say for sure there are some days where I have done less than I feel like I could have. What matters is what you change in the future and not what you wish you could change.

My example of this roller coaster is from my process of being recruited for lacrosse. Last summer I played for two travel teams with a total of 4 tournaments. I had the goal to be picked up that summer. I had a target school in mind and I did everything to reach them, multiple emails, sending clips, asking the tournament if they showed up, constantly. Nothing. I heard nothing. But still I got up, I would take shots and practice everyday in my yard. Along with the balance of work and the various practices and tournaments. At the end of the season I heard nothing. Truthfully I was bummed. It’s not like I didn’t have interested schools, but I didn’t have the school I wanted. Still, I got up everyday and shot my heart out. Wall ball before summer football practice. Anything that would get me noticed when school lacrosse season eventually swings around. Until that one day. I’m sitting on my phone wasting time when I get an email. One coach from this school told me he watched me at one of the tournaments and was very impressed and asked me to schedule a recruiting phone call, which is quite common in the process. I remember jumping out of my chair, running through my house, hearing my footsteps banging across the hardwood floor. I meet my mom outside of the office asking, “What is going on?” I start reading the email, I am coach blah blah from said school. I read the whole email with a smile on my face. I get done reading and my mom says, “read it again, I was too excited to listen.” So I read it again. We are both almost jumping around just outside the office. That phone call was one of my greatest moments, it was like seeing the stars align in my recruiting goals. As many now know, I am committed to play after highschool and I am so proud of the work I’ve done and continue to do for my college athletic career.

While this is my personal story that many might not relate too, it goes to show a bigger lesson of my effort and outcome. The commitment to trying the hardest at things has done more than sports. I have applied the work ethic to my school work and have seen my grades go up. I believe that someone’s effort is a choice that can be applied to everything you do. 

Just remember to always give it your all no matter how difficult the task or no matter the task. Put in the max effort to prove, most importantly to yourself, that you can do it and do a good job. No matter what you end up doing or where you end up going, always remember to put in effort, goodluck and…

Thank you

“20070210 – Physical Exertion” by crab68 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.