The last major match I played while in Pepsi football academy was an Inter-state competition. I was playing at the defence. We struggled to reach the final in the competition, and we competed with one of the strongest team in the competition.
I was among the active defenders in the team and I was instructed to play against the team best attacker. I knew this guy to be a very sharp attacker, and my mind shook a bit.
When the game started, I put in at my front always. Therefore, for him to pass through, he would need to dribble me. I was not the best, but I trained myself to be a hard to dribble defender. He was fast, but I always slide the boy through his legs. After the first half, he could not get anything good from my wing and the scoreboard shows 0-0. It was hard to stop the guy because he was so fast and sharp. I struggled, the team struggled. The match ended 1-0, and it was a victory for us. After the match, the coach called me and commended my effort.
It has been 13 years, but I remembered it and learned two things. If you can see the obstacle, you can beat it and the result will never come without the struggle. I think about this often. We live life at the moment and we all need to live in an arena and achieve every day’s reward.
I had many experiences during my stay at the academy. There were times I failed but in this match, I succeeded and whenever I think about the victory that day and I see the struggle to hold the most dangerous attacker as the reward for the match. The activities, the effort, the willpower and the spirit.
After the competition, we were crowned the first and people celebrated with us and many people only considered the success without considering the process.
Ever since then, I see things like this happening in any aspects of life. We focus on success as the reward. The world makes us feel that without success we fail and have no result. But what about the moment you had a good fight but failed? What about times you worked your “ass out”? The good plans that went bad? You got no reward?
It is not just the result that matters or makes your effort valuable, it’s the struggle and fight in the process that is the reward because it gives you experience.
What is your reward?
For a sales manager, your reward is not just making massive sales, your reward is in every moment you make effort for sales. Your reward is the experience you gained. Your reward is on every lead you convert to sales and every lead that turned you down. Your reward is in your struggles.
Athlete reward is not just winning the trophy or the medal. The reward is every time you compete. Every time you train and work hard to beat someone. The reward is every time you push and show what you’ve got.
This goes on in every aspect of life. Having massive sales, winning trophies and other success are just the effects of your effort, hard work, struggles and none would come without the actual reward which is the process.
Live every moment and enjoy your reward. The side effect would come.