Effort and Awareness

EFFORT AND AWARENESS

Two words. Two words that symbolize great and often mighty images in one’s mind. When separated, they are strong, defining words that appear in every self-help and management book printed over the last 40 years. By putting them together, marrying them if you will, something powerful happens. By incorporating them into the same concept, we are forever ending the argument as to which one is more important. We are joining the two into one mighty idea where control of our lives and outcomes will suddenly feel much more possible and attainable.

In their most basic form, the word effort means “the result of an attempt.” There are dozens of definitions for this word that exist in dictionaries around the world. This one is my favorite. The result of an attempt. As my son gets older, I see him beginning to try and complicate once-simple ideas. I am constantly telling him to keep it simple. Think about this like you did when you were five (he is a teenager now. You should see the perplexed looks he gives me when I tell him this). In my ‘keeping it simple like kids’ mantra, extra effort should yield extra results, right?

Awareness, means “knowledge or perception of a situation or fact.” Again, keeping it simple, like a child, increased knowledge should yield a more favorable outcome than less knowledge, right?

One of my great inspirations and motivations is my now-teenaged son. From the time he first started playing T-ball or kicked his first soccer ball, I told him repeatedly that there are only two things I care about regarding the outcome of the games in which he played. I do not care about winning. I don’t care about personal stats. As an individual on a team sport, those cannot be controlled by a single person. What he can control and the only two things I demand from him, 100% effort and awareness. Those two things can be controlled by the individual. Give your all and pay extreme attention and I will be the proudest parent on the field that day. Leave every ounce on the field and always be ready and know what to do when the ball comes your way and that is a win in my book.
In addition to sports, he has heard this about school, chores, homework, friendships, you name it. My son can recite it verbatim. “Effort and awareness are the only two things you can absolutely have complete control over in your life.” He has heard it countless times. You know what? He lives it. He breathes it. Ask any coach, any teacher, any parent. By demanding those two things from him for as long as he can remember, it is second nature to him now. But that isn’t the really cool part of the story. The really cool part is, by demanding it of him, I started demanding it of myself. As a parent, spouse, friend, coach, and consultant. Be here now. Advocate for more joy. The teacher has become the student because of having such a wonderful student. The eyes I see the world through now are so much clearer and more rewarding thanks to my son listening and applying this piece of parenting advice so well.

Let me offer this same advice to you, dear friends. Effort and Awareness are the only two things you have absolute control over in your lives. Leave it all on the proverbial field, (work, relationships, parenting, life) and pay attention to everything going on around you. Know what to do when the ball comes your way. A high effort/awareness quotient brings self-confidence with it, which brings energy, which brings results, which brings joy. We all could use more joy, couldn’t we?

Steve Gwisdalla is a Dexter resident. He is the Owner and Chief Effort and Awareness Officer for BetterPlace Consulting, a success and career coaching company. Reach out to him at steve@betterplacemgmt.com.