Many people quit not when something is difficult, but when the outcome is delayed.
When the surroundings do not yield - could be anything from slowing markets to drying up opportunities - we freeze too. The first thing we think is ‘Why act now? I will act when things get better.’
The truth is that things will never get better until we act.
Here is a little story of a farmer.
During a drought, a farmer wondered whether he had to plough his dry farm.
A passing elder told him, “The sky has withheld its rain today. But if the soil is not broken when the clouds finally break, you cannot blame the sky.”
Similarly, in Sanskrit there is a Subhashita (a well-known saying):
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
Karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana |
Mā karmaphalaheturbhūrmā te saṅgo'stvakarmaṇi ||
This means that ‘Your right and jurisdiction extend only to your actions, never to the fruits or outcomes thereof. Let not the expectation of results dictate your motives, nor let your mind surrender to inaction.’
The outcomes of any venture are beyond your control, but your readiness and labour are always necessary.
When external circumstances are not favourable, do not worry about the results, focus on your daily effort. That way you will be prepared when opportunity knocks.
Because the sky does not owe you rain on your schedule.
But when the rain finally arrives, what is important is whether your soil can use the rain that has arrived.
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