How many times did you feel that you should have acted in time and also put in more efforts to rescue or revive a dire situation that almost seemed like slipping out of your hands? In most cases, isn’t it how a situation turns out, rather you finding yourself home safely with some time to spare and relax? Be it festive shopping, catching a flight or a train, reaching a wedding venue or preparing a worksheet at office. You always seem to be on your toes and just making it before the curtain falls. All talk about ‘stitch in time saves nine’ seems to go for a toss and no emotion or logic ever works to put you back on track and reform you even slightly. You clearly fit the definition of an incorrigible daily warrior, having to fight it out to earn a livelihood, as a white- or blue-collar employee. Your spouse has reminded you of your obnoxious habits many times in the past and now doesn’t want to get into a fight and spoil everyone’s mood. You do not seem to pay any heed or attention as you have developed a thick skin. Nothing can disturb and unsettle you in your joyous stupor even if someone jolts you thoroughly. You continue to dance to your own tunes and seem to be lost in your own reveries, caring a hoot about a grudge that your neighbour holds against you or what others might complain about.

None of us can afford not to do anything in life. Our life is a gift that must be made as meaningful and purposeful as possible. The only choices before us are to keep doing more and doing it right, for this is how we can achieve success. No one has ever achieved success by doing too little or none at all. One thing that we must realise is that timing of an activity is also very important. Doing a good activity ahead of time might not bear good result. Similarly doing too little or none at all at the right time also bears no result. Only the right amount of efforts, in the right direction and at the right time have the power to propel us on our journey to excellence. Any other way might not take us where we intend to go rather take us nowhere or completely off track. Therefore, it is most important to put in requisite efforts, those that will produce the desired outcome. 

[ Also Read: What are you thinking about today? Will you have a great day? ]           

Some of us are not as lucky as others, since we all have varying amount of time at our disposal. While some have all the time in the world and still might not have figured out how best to utilize it and others have too little that seems insufficient to carry out all the good, they want to do. Think of how much you can achieve if you realise the importance of time too early in life. How much meaningfully you will be able to live and contribute to the society. Some of us are endowed with short but meaningful lives while others live far too long and still achieve so little in comparison. A pertinent question that arises at this moment is, is quality of life more important than the number of years lived? Should a life be measured by the number of years that one lives or the good deeds a person performs? 

If you are guilty of doing too less in life of what excites you or arouses your interest then no one is to be blamed except your own self. Knowing just a little bit does not excite a person, what excites is the knowledge of the relevant stuff which meets your interest. You might have witnessed that situations change over time and do not remain static forever. You should be continually on the lookout for opportunities in the changed milieu. One single opportunity that holds a great promise and that which arouses your greatest interest is enough to change your whole world around like never before. Taking full advantage of the environment and your special training and skills, success may just be waiting to bow at your feet. Remember, you might not be successful in your very first attempt but that does not mean that you will never taste success ever in life. In your subsequent attempt or attempts, you might strike gold and reach the pinnacle of success like never before. If you put in too little efforts and too late in time, then the job might not reach completion or fruition and the chances of that happening anytime soon may seem remote. In this situation, you might be left holding nothing but disappointment and shattered dreams. Therefore, pay due respect to time and requisite efforts if you wish to reach the top.

[ Also Read: Sorry, this is not for you ! ] 

You realise the ineffectiveness, inefficacy and fruitlessness of doing too little as well as too late in time when a medical emergency strikes a near and a dear one. You might realise the dire implications of your easy going and lackadaisical approach is such a case. If one does not act in time, the medical condition might get aggravated and the doctors pronounce their final verdict. One kept postponing all the crucial jobs like seeking sound medical advice from not just one but few medical practitioners and getting on with the medical procedures. The only question that rings in your mind at this very moment is why did you not do enough while the time was still there to act. Insufficient efforts and that too at the eleventh hour when the person was almost near his certain death might prove futile and not even worth a dime.

A student’s prime responsibility is to study sincerely at school so that he or she can substantially augment his or her knowledge by leaps and bounds day after day. We all know the benefits of regular study as against irregular or erratic one. A student takes grade exams at the end of the year and realises, just ahead of time, that he did not prepare all the year round. All that he did was study for a few hours during preparatory leaves only and consequently could not do well as he started his preparations too late and put in too little efforts that did not ensure best performance. He recollects how his teachers and parents used to ask him to spend time studying. If he had done enough while the time was still there, he might have scored good marks and made himself and his parents proud. Don’t you realise that we often repent and fret about having limited time at our disposal and simultaneously keep wasting it every day without an iota of realisation, guilt or remorse. 

[ Also Read: Should everyone be given the benefit of doubt? ]

A journey of a few miles begins with a single step and so does another of a thousand miles. This goes on to prove the importance of a single first step no matter how long the journey is. If you are well prepared to undertake the journey, you may be able to complete it successfully. What gives you the confidence and the strength to stay on course undeterred, is the level of your preparation. How well you are prepared to face any unforeseen situation or challenges that might crop up on the way. If you are ill prepared to handle the challenges, you might have to quit on the way as you might not have the requisite skills, capability or the confidence to complete the journey. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to give your preparation the cutting edge by allowing sufficient time and efforts to seep deep inside you so that it becomes part of your DNA or habit. 

In today’s world where technology rules the roost, there is a mobile application for almost everything you might want, from hotel booking to cab hailing, from food delivery to financial advice. You name it and it’s there. We all know that no one bets on thoughts and ideas that might just be theoretical or metaphysical constructs. Everyone wants to see their ideas in action and witness how these can change the world. What differentiates various ideas are their relative profitability, feasibility, marketability and ease of implementation. Some could be viably implemented while others are not amenable to such implementation. A humble sounding but innovative Idea coupled with modern technology might turn out to be another unicorn in the making. For all you care, you might find someone else having the same idea as yours but acted much before you did and take an early mover advantage. Hence it is important that you should put your ideas to test as soon as these germinate in your mind provided you have resources to go ahead with the process of putting them into practice. Who knows, it might just turn out to be the best of ideas that promises to change the entire milieu of things around you. 

All the above examples show that too little time and effort spent on accomplishing a task do not spell success. You cannot rely on the knowledge you acquired in a hurry at the last moment when enough time is not devoted. Moreover, doing things at the last moment puts one through a lot of pressure and anxiety which take away whatever little chances there were to achieve success.