What is more important - victory or learnings during the journey to the victory?
What is more important - victory or learnings during the journey to the victory?
Let us begin with a small exercise. I will request you to rewind your memory to your last holiday. When did you start planning for your trip? How did you consider the location for the trip? Try to remember the discussions that went into deciding the place to visit, while planning and envisioning the journey. When we remember such events of our life, it is always the small bits of information which come together to build a landscape of a joyous eventful journey.
Though the place to get to is important, however the journey is invariably more enjoyable. The journey of exploration and discovery is more meaningful. While on this journey, we learn many aspects of the process. We also understand how to unlearn many preconceived notions. We learn that change is the only constant in life. We assume that a particular route is the right way, and mid-way we discover that we make a wrong judgement and need to take a detour, or possibly change the destination itself.
Robert Frost has captured this sentiment so beautifully in his poem-The Road Not Taken. The perspectives that we are so caught up with, holding it so close to our heart, can get shattered in a jiffy. The answers that we insisted as being right and correct become a mere probability. Joy is found in discovering the possibilities not merely in getting to a victorious end.
If we look at any victorious journey, we can identify a similar trend across all stories. Behind the victorious end, is lot of toil and sweat, which is often hidden from the eyes of those who view the journey from the outside? Is it not? Yet, the most interesting part of the victory is when we read about the turns and twists, the highs and the lows, which are inspirational stories woven in the tapestry of the entire passage, leading to momentous victory.
It is the experience which makes it all a worthwhile trip, a journey of life itself. And whether one is successful or not, victorious or not, only the learnings in the journey can tell.
Discussion
- RE: What is more important - victory or learnings during the journey to the victory? -Sumangala Varun (03/26/14)
- Introduction
Victory or success in an endeavor is an important aspect of everybody’s life. We all want to work hard and succeed in our chosen fields. However, in today’s challenging world, competition is tough, and therefore, victory is all the more sweet.
Is it more important to consider what we have learnt over the journey, or is it our victory that is more important? While this looks like a simple and straightforward question, it needs a lot of thought and consideration. The term victory has several connotations. What does victory mean in this context? It could be any of the following:
• Victory in battle,
• Victory over the towering Mount Everest,
• Victory in cracking a tough exam,
• Victory in getting that coveted position in a prestigious organization
Let us look at this question from a bird’s eye view. For any of the examples of victory mentioned above, a lot of learning is involved. If you are fighting a war, in the battlefield, you will need to spend several years of training before you can finally enter the arena. To scale a mountain peak as high and complicated as the Everest, you will have to spend a few months getting trained at the mountaineering camps. When climbing the Everest, your sight will be set to the top, but you also have to be aware of your surroundings. One small slip; and you can easily fall. To clear a competitive exam, you need several months of preparation. To secure a good post in any organization, you have to work on several things, including etiquette, confidence, grooming, and diction, among other factors.
Likewise, in life, we set goals for ourselves, and work hard to reach our goals. When we achieve the goal, it is a culmination of all the steps we have taken, or a combination of the efforts we have taken. On the way, we learn much more than what we expect to learn. We meet several people and undergo different types of experiences. When we reach the peak, we are wiser than when we started the climb.
Sometimes, it is our experiences that help us in going one step ahead. So, while our goal keeps us on the path, it is what we learn on our way that propels us forward.
Conclusion
So, to conclude, it is important to learn from our victory, and the journey we undertake to attain victory. This is because what we learn on the way is what contributes to our final destination. As we often hear, the journey is as important as the destination.
