Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great. – Niccolò Machiavelli
A girl and a pony, and no room full of poop. (read the post)
What does that mean?
To me, the first part of the quote is the essence of enthusiasm. If you are ready, willing and able, nothing will be able to withstand your efforts for very long. Your willingness becomes the core of the effort, allowing you to remain motivated and to push aside the little things that cause less willing people to give up.
The second part of the quote is just as straight forward. Those things that seem to be too difficult for those who lack enthusiasm are not to difficult for you. Nothing is too big, nothing is overwhelming, you just keep at it until you get it done.
Why is enthusiasm important?
This story is usually told as an example of optimism, but it is also about the enthusiasm, both to believe and to work hard to get the desired result.
A little girl, on her birthday, was hoping for a pony. Her cruel step-mother instead filled her room with horse manure. The step-mother expected the little girl to break into tears, but was astonished at both the size of the smile and enthusiasm with which she started checking around the room, calling for the pony. On seeing her astonished step-mother’s face, she stated “With all this poop, there’s got to be a pony around here somewhere. Thanks!” And with that, she returned to her search.
That is enthusiasm. Enthusiasm allows you to bear great burdens, suffer great indignities and do what others won’t. This allows you to achieve what others can only dream of.
Where can I apply this in my life?
For me, my enthusiasm is in all sorts of electronic and mechanical things, as well as my kids. The things can be almost anything I can build, take apart, or improve. Electronics, circuit bending, coding, cars, woodworking, Lego and so much more. With my kids, I am enthusiastic about roughly half of the things they do. I’ll admit it, I’m not that thrilled with the thought of three hours of dance each week, but I do it anyway, and with a smile.
What are you enthusiastic about? Do you have a hobby, a skill, an activity or something else that you love to do? What do you get up extra early to do, even on a day off? What do you make time for, even on your busiest day? Hopefully you have a few ideas at this point.
Grab some paper and write down a few of those things down. Think about each one and give it a rating. Which ones are your favorites? Look over the favorites and see if you can find a pattern. For me, it’s things I can manipulate with my hands. What is it for you?
The point of the exercise is to try to find out what you are enthusiastic about, and why. The hope is that the next time you have to do that you aren’t particularly thrilled with, you can find some small aspect that you can become enthusiastic about.
Why would that be important? What if you didn’t like gardening or planting flowers, but you needed to do some planting for a friend, an organization you belong to, or to a charitable work. If you enjoy photography, you might find it easier to become and remain enthusiastic about digging in the dirt if you can stay focused on the pictures you were going to take of the finished product. Does it make sense now?
The world is full of tasks that are not among your favorites. Sometimes it can be hard to maintain, or even achieve, any significant level of enthusiasm. By knowing yourself, you can try to find little things to help you stay motivated and achieve great things with small bits of enthusiasm sprinkled throughout the project.
This technique has helped me slog through many less-than-fun projects over the years. It is my hope that it will be of some help to you as well.
From: Twitter, @PhilosophyQuotz
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/niccolomac144775.html
Photo by bfhoyt
