I recently travelled in the North of Cambodia. During my trip I had the chance to visit quite a few Buddhist shrines and climb atop the central tower of the complexes. I was struck by the sheer slope of the climb and the size of the very tall and very narrow steps to get there. It was then explained to me, as I was enjoying the magnificent views, that stairways were built that way on purpose to conform to the basic philosophy that great things require a great effort and the things most worthwhile require a commensurate and sustained effort. It is a philosophy that I would love to ingrain in our students at the college. If you think that things are hard and the effort needed is huge, it is only because the final ‘prize’ is definitely worth it. Be it study, sport, work or relationships, if it’s an easy shot it’s generally because it is not a greatly prized outcome. The incredible sense of satisfaction, pride and self-belief that comes with accomplishing something really worthwhile will make all the pain and effort seem trivial. As M Arora put it, ‘To achieve what one per cent of the world’s population has you must be willing to do what only one per cent dare to do; hard work and perseverance of the highest order.’ Are you one of the one per cent?
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