All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.

All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work. – Calvin Coolidge

Work is effort for an extended time, not a bad word. It looks like someone is ready to work on getting better at their mad gaming skills.

What does that mean?
As much as I love this quote, I wish to point out that there is at least one thing that can grow without any activity. That would be your waist-line. All kidding aside, the point of the quote is that if you wish to advance yourself beyond the limits of your natural ability or talent, you’re going to have to work at it.

Do you want to be able to lift more than you presently can, or run farther than you presently are able, going to have to train,. Training is an activity, and that takes some effort to help you grow. You’re going to have to do it for a while, and that turns effort into work. Do you want to learn a language or get better at chess or crossword puzzles? Same thing. Do the action, train, which leads to practice, which requires effort, and that’s work.

Why is work important?  
Whether it’s working to improve yourself (the basis of this quote) or you are working on something else (or working with someone else), it’s going to take some actual activity, which leads to effort, and effort over time is work.

Many people consider the word ‘work’ to be a bad, or at least distasteful word. They have come to associate it with things that they don’t like. That, while understandable, I consider it quite regrettable. Work is simply the expending of effort over some length of time.

Remember, it’s not just physical effort. Learning a new language or getting better at crossword puzzles or games will take quite a bit of mental effort, and usually quite a bit of time. Put those two together and you have work for the mind.

And as the quote states, you aren’t going to get better just sitting there, unless you’re practicing your meditation techniques. Even then, you really aren’t just sitting there, unless you’ve already perfected your technique. Work is how we get better at things, so please try to love the word. 🙂

Where can I apply this in my life?
There are a million ways to work, and probably a million times that number of things to work on. How do you want to grow? What about you would you like to improve? Do you want to grow your knowledge on a topic? Do you want to work on a skill, and is it one you already know, or do you want to start on a new skill?

I just got a new computer game to learn to play (in my copious free time), and I’m getting ready to start back on my project car soon, as well as do some maintenance on the daily driver (with the assistance of my son, who will also be growing in his automotive repair prowess).

What is on your short list of things you want to develop in your life? Grab some paper and make a list, and try to get things from all the different parts of your life, such as work, play, social groups, personal interests, and whatever else seems appropriate to you and your life.

Look for one that is really interesting to you and expand it a little bit. Try to be specific as you answer questions about why you want to do it, how far you want to grow in that area, what else you may need to do in order to get there, and any other question of which you can think.

If you wanted to learn a foreign language, but didn’t know where there were classes, and weren’t sure where the nearest library was, and didn’t know anyone who spoke it, you’d be in a bit of a fix, wouldn’t you? By asking and answering such questions, you should have a better feel for what it will take to get there from where you are, presently.

Now list all the things you need to gather, do, find, or otherwise prepare, in order to get you moving on your goal of growth. Write down next to each item what (exactly) needs to be done. Don’t say “find a book” but “find this specific book by this specific author (recommended by someone)”. Even if you can’t find that book, the people you interact with while trying to find it may be able to recommend a more accessible book instead.

With a list of preliminaries out of the way, plan the general path of your growth. What activities will get you to your destination? How much effort, spread over what time frame are you willing to devote to the task? With the big questions answered, all you need to do is a little more planning and a lot more working.

Start by taking the first step. What on your list of preliminaries can you cross off in the next 15 minutes? Is there someone you can call, is there something you can search for online? Take that first step, so that the growth can begin. Then keep working until you achieve what you set out to accomplish.

From: Twitter, @DiabeticTalks
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/calvin_coolidge.html
Photo by kitkatherine

Happy Birthday to President Calvin Coolidge, born 4 July 1872.