Of course, many of us have seen this ideologue somewhere at some point of time in our lives
but only those of us who have followed it will understand that ‘hard work’ isn’t as simple a term in practice as it is in theory. It takes grit and an indomitable spirit to go that extra mile but what does it take to get that grit in our guts in the first place? How do we know that we have it in
ourselves to achieve our dreams and ambitions when we have never partaken in such a drive
ever before in our lives? The answer is simple, but also complicated – FAITH. Simple, because it is the first and foremost thing that makes us a visionary and enables us to see beyond the horizon. Complicated, because many a times we confuse faith with our beliefs which may help us in some cases but can hinder our ability to chart our course of action precisely in others as our beliefs are governed by our past experiences that may be sweet or sour whereas our faith is governed by our motivation to achieve our goals and our perception of our own future selves;whence not even knowing if we are ready to do so. Faith doesn’t have anything to do with our past, hence whatever mistakes we might have made earlier simply have no effect on our future actions if our faith is in the right place.
Thus, it is a simple co-relation I believe, that our goals precede our Faith and our Faith precedes
our Hard Work. I, for one, have faced several challenges in life that required something more
than just talent to be overcome. As a student, I was always in the average category of students in terms of academic performance. But during my 10th standard, I set my targets higher than my own perceived capacity of myself and worked relentlessly to achieve it. Like I said earlier, there
was nothing from the past that could anchor my efforts into a definite direction so I relied solely on my faith in myself and my hard work and saw magic happening for the first time in my life as I secured higher percentage than even my targeted figure. I achieved the results which were higher than what I was aiming for. It was the beginning of realization of a new version of myself, the version that takes challenges head-on and is determined to achieve its set targets no matter the amount of hard work that has to be put into doing it.
This version of me that believes that the biggest room in this world is the room for improvement has been my biggest strength in life so far. Although I am not a very talented person, I got through a rigorous mechanical engineering course with CGPA of 8.35 out of 10 owing to this improved thought process. Also, later in my first job as a Trainee Project Engineer in a very dynamic and deadline-oriented environment, I sailed through varying highs and lows with targets always achieved at the end. Later in my life, as I decided to take one of the most competitive exams in the country – CAT, I found this approach handy as I secured a decent
percentile while only preparing for a very short span of three months. I also cracked the rigorous admission process of my alma-mater – IMI Delhi and I am now a part of this prestigious institution with a rich history of producing hardworking and visionary leaders and see myself becoming one through exceptional knowledge and training provided by this institute and my own work ethic.
