Excellence. we love people with excellence. these people are the power cores of any organisation, and asset to the community and the people around them. but the sad thing is this, few people will understand the pain behind excellence - effort
to do anything you require some effort. some task that are simple will require little effort. some task that are easy to do yet hard to comprehend. but putting in effort is not enough. if everyone puts in the same amount of effort for everything that they do, no one will stand out of the crowd. to do excellent work you need to put in MORE effort than the usual required.
the problem is, you will not see the results immediately. you might be expecting words of appraisal from your superior but instead you get remanded for something wrong that you did before. you might have to wait a long time before your actions and hard work pays off. and thus you gave up.
you start to think that your hard work are really hard and you really gave it all out to make it a successful proposal, a resounding presentation, the best piece of homework you ever did and your tutor just leaves an "A" on your paper. you start to wonder why is everything so unfair and everything other people do just pass out as better than yours. some even grow envious of the "teacher's pet" and plot to sabotage him.
but hey, is that the only reason you're putting in effort for ? to be in the limelight ? to be called "the best" ? nothing is wrong with trying to do that. but doing things for the sake of recognition is dangerous to your mind. you'll start to crave for people to notice you. then as time pass by you'll become self-centered or think that only the things you do and the method you use is the best and everyone should follow you. you look down on other people. but that's not the end. you'll want to push yourself to be even more famous and ultimately make everyone know that you exist. you'll become even more self-centered and even more proud of your achievement that nothing exist in your eyes except you and the things you do.
but during the course of your quest to fame, how many people have you hurt ? how many people have you shamed so that you could step over them and be higher than they are ? how many friends have you lost ? how many evil words have you said to another so that they'll listen to you and lose their stand in an argument ? fame and statuses are only passing wind. they exist because you have friends and you want to impress your friends, but as a friend he/she has already accepted who you are and what you can do.
we put in effort because we want to do a little more for the benefit of others. we want people to know that we care and we want to help people. it might not be a need, but seeing someone putting in some effort to help make your job easier makes you feel happier. it makes your heart warm with gratitude and your mouth utter the word "thanks". you start to feel that you're not alone doing your job.
when people start to see how you gave yourself for the benefit of others, they will recognize you as a helpful person. a person who knows more and shows more. a person who cared for their colleagues their friends their classmates enough to do something to ease their work, their burden or their homework.
and people who cared eventually will get fame and recognition by the people around them. then it spreads to the friends of the people around them. then it spreads and spread until everyone knows that such a good soul existed. because he never gave up on his friends when they are in need and he never gave up doing more so that others could do less.
