Growing up, I was told time and time again to keep my eyes on the prize. Everyone seemed to emphasize on the end results of working hard, and winning the ultimate prize. But now that I have gotten older, and evaluated things in life a little bit more, I realize that it's not about the prize......it's about the race, or the pathway leading up to the prize. I think that we should stay focused on the hard work that leads up to the win.
Let's think about things in literal terms. If we were to keep out eyes on the finish line only, then how would we stay in our lanes, and not get tied up in possible obstacles? In other words, if all we're going to focus on is the reward we're going to get when we're done, then it could be easy to overlook the hard work and discipline we put into achieving the end result. That hard work is the most important aspect to me.
Prizes come in the form of money, trophies, ribbons, etc. All of these things can eventually fade or disappear at some point in time. Trophies tend to gather dust , ribbons are usually put away and forgotten about, and money, of course, is spent. So why do we put all this emphasis on the prize? Everyone wants to be able to say that they earned this, or won that, but it's the blood, sweat, tears, and determination that makes winning worthwhile.
This is why, when some people cheat, their reward or prize is taken away from them. Think about those athletes that were found guilty of using performance-enhancement drugs such as steroids. When this information was uncovered, they were stripped of their medals and so forth, because they didn't earn them honestly. How you complete your race, makes you who you are.
There are many awards that I won growing up, and I couldn't begin to tell you what some of them are. However, I can still remember the grueling hours of practice I spent singing to prepare for the State competition, or how I used to write "practice" stories and poetry during all of my free time, even when others would make fun of some of the things that I would write about. Many entertainers can tell story after story of how they would be in the studio all night, writing or recording, leading up to having chart topping albums. This is what counts. Other artists brag about all their nice cars, all the money they have to throw away, clothes, status, and sometimes that can cause a misunderstanding as to what life is really about....the hard work put into success....or the success itself? Which one really defines who YOU are?
Let's think about things in literal terms. If we were to keep out eyes on the finish line only, then how would we stay in our lanes, and not get tied up in possible obstacles? In other words, if all we're going to focus on is the reward we're going to get when we're done, then it could be easy to overlook the hard work and discipline we put into achieving the end result. That hard work is the most important aspect to me.
Prizes come in the form of money, trophies, ribbons, etc. All of these things can eventually fade or disappear at some point in time. Trophies tend to gather dust , ribbons are usually put away and forgotten about, and money, of course, is spent. So why do we put all this emphasis on the prize? Everyone wants to be able to say that they earned this, or won that, but it's the blood, sweat, tears, and determination that makes winning worthwhile.
This is why, when some people cheat, their reward or prize is taken away from them. Think about those athletes that were found guilty of using performance-enhancement drugs such as steroids. When this information was uncovered, they were stripped of their medals and so forth, because they didn't earn them honestly. How you complete your race, makes you who you are.
There are many awards that I won growing up, and I couldn't begin to tell you what some of them are. However, I can still remember the grueling hours of practice I spent singing to prepare for the State competition, or how I used to write "practice" stories and poetry during all of my free time, even when others would make fun of some of the things that I would write about. Many entertainers can tell story after story of how they would be in the studio all night, writing or recording, leading up to having chart topping albums. This is what counts. Other artists brag about all their nice cars, all the money they have to throw away, clothes, status, and sometimes that can cause a misunderstanding as to what life is really about....the hard work put into success....or the success itself? Which one really defines who YOU are?
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