842. Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises….!

Yesterday I read “Long jumper Ankit Sharma qualifies for Rio 2016 Olympics”. The athlete had successfully qualified for the men’s long jump event with his 8.17 metres leap. Though I did not watch the qualifying jump I could imagine that Ankit would have taken the approach run, the last two strides, take-off, action in the air, and landed at 8.17 metres. He would not have jumped at 8.17 metres from where he stood. The speed to take off is important and that speed comes from the run before the last two strides.   

Does anyone count the number of small steps taken before the last two strides to get the acceleration for the take-off?
          

We are in a hurry to get the big, it seems. The pace of life has increased and rushing through our days, through our lives has now become the norm. We want everything now and that too Big. Not surprisingly, this is the way we approach our goals and life changes as well. Patience and steady is hard to come by: we expect results fast and huge, and if we haven’t reached our goal, it must be we are aiming small is the way we think.

“If you are going to kill, then kill an elephant; if you are going to steal make sure it's a treasure” this saying which feels justice is better than admiration has been misunderstood to go for Big. This attitude goes well with anti-socials. It does not encourage a civilized person to take that path. Learning to build on small accomplishments is the key to the success on a bigger scale. This as I understand is the simplest but most effective strategy one can use, as consistency plays an important role in it too. Every person who is successful today has made it to that level by taking baby steps. They have believed in trifle triumphs.

What is this trifle triumphs? They are those realistic, quickly achievable, smaller opportunities of a larger objective. This bite-size goal will vary depending upon our specific intention, time frame, and motivation. The reason this strategy works is because we are able to see tangible progress, rather quickly. A sense of accomplishment and encouragement to move on to our next trifle goal is experienced. Using those small successes as stepping-stones it is easier to approach the larger goal. This trifle triumph relays more on consistency. It is that glue that holds trifle triumphs together. Most failures to achieve a bigger goal are not due to lack of willpower, but it is due to lack of consistency.

As a writer I know how hard it is to be consistent. There could be a lot to express in writing but there are times when I have stared at the white screen for hours. I find it difficult to get started sometimes; it is called the writer’s block. If I get into that sort of situation I just log out for some time go out and feel the nice breeze. And then the thought pulsate and there is a flow as usual. What starts as a few sentence gather momentum and will be a complete 500 odd word write up.

In Kannada they say “Palige bandaddu panchamruta” {whatever comes as (my) share is Ambrosia}. Every single opportunity I get small or irrelevant to others is full of meaning to me. The problem with today’s generation is that they gauge the opportunity by its size. Most of them wait for Big and let the small ones slip through their fingers. The feel is that only bigger opportunities get them the fame and success. However, let me ask you something, what is Big opportunity for you? Depending on the point of view and level of contentment this will vary isn’t it??? A small but pivotal role for a already established actor could be small, but it is not small to a budding artist. Think about this, every little opportunity you encounter in life is a challenge. Accomplishing every opportunity in life is already a success. If you look at things in this angle, you will see life in a positive outlook……. What say???