Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success

Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash

This is the story of Eklavya. Born in a tribe, he was rejected by the Guru Dronacharya whom he had approached to learn archery. He left, insulted and dispirited. However, he did not go back to his tribe, he swallowed the humiliation and remained committed to his goal of mastering archery. So there in the forest, he built a mud statue of the Guru and vowed to participate faithfully in front of the statue every day until he becomes the best archer in the world.

Eklavya’s story is fairly common and he is often exemplified as an ideal student. But there is more to the story than that. Eklavya displays not only impeccable loyalty to his Guru but also courage of acceptance of the circumstances, the refusal of the Guru, the insult by Arjuna along with an undying dedication to learn and better his skill.

Success came to him, eventually, following him through his keys to success acceptance and dedicated improvement.

Acceptance requires courage

Courage is the willingness to confront something decidedly unpleasant like a danger. It is the willingness to take risk at the cost of potential failure. Accepting requires this courage. Accepting a challenge to one’s opinion, accepting criticism on a piece of writing, accepting failures and sorrows when they come knocking at our doors — all of that requires willingness to appreciate and accept. This willingness is courage. And it is precious and rare for not all people can muster this willingness to face honest criticism, the pointing out of mistakes and the ideas for betterment.

The beginning point of any path to success is acceptance. Acceptance is the true perception and comprehension of the self, the circumstances and one’s mindset and the level of competence. Acceptance also encompasses coming to terms with change, uncertainty, disruption of routines and the variables and everything that makes life challenging. Courage is essential for this kind of acceptance and, in turn, this acceptance fortifies courage.

A powerful equilibrium emerges from this and morphs into faith or confidence — the feeling of ability. The idea that ‘I can do it’. This simple admission is a mark of faith in oneself and is the foundation of the strength that allows one to walk the long way to success, that is, practice.

No improvement without dedication

Now, improvement is a process that leads to success. But what are the enablers of improvement itself?

Faith is one. The thought of ability helps improve, yes. But there is more.

There is practice — continuous, focused and persistent practice. Practice is repetition after every failed attempt. It is a vow to do better the next time.

Imagine the everyday struggles of Eklavya alone in the forest, a mud statue for a teacher, trying to teach himself to shoot arrows. How frustrating every failure must have been. Shooting hundreds of arrows every day — trying to understand the minutiae of placing his fingers, the grip, the tension in the bow, the trajectory of the arrow and the pervasive feelings of not being able to do anything right.

Imagine the number of times he must have felt like giving up and going back to his tribe. But he didn’t. How did he summon up the will to practise every day?

The key was his dedication to the notion of learning and keep on striving to accomplish his goal of becoming a master archer.

Without dedication, continuous practice is not possible. Without practice, no improvement can be made. Practice offers every day opportunity to scrutinise our skill and to think of and seek ideas to better and hone our skills.

Irregularity in practice cuts off any scope of improvement. Without the mirror of practice, one will remain stagnant with no change, no upgradations. Without dedication to the ideal of improvement and progress, one will not get up to look in that mirror every day.

Dedication is commitment. Commitment can be to a goal or to a person but, it can also be to an idea — perhaps of becoming a better version of oneself. Eklavya’s goal was to be an archer. Upon beingrejected, he dedicated himself to the cause of learning. Becoming on his own, what his guru would have made him. His dedication forced him to pick up his arrows and try again and again until he became an archer.

Pathways to Success

Several years later, Guru Dronacharya and his disciples Pandavas passed through the forest where Eklavya used to dwell in and practice. The guru saw a dog unable to bark. He was amazed to see such a feat of archery and asked Eklavya who his teacher was.

Eklavya’s excellence was a result of his dedication which fueled both his courage to accept his situation and to resolve to be better and his deliberate practice.

There are many keys to success and they’re known by different names and take different forms across time, space and domains. Nonetheless, two points on all paths to success are the same — the beginning of courage to accept and the fuel of dedication required to travel the long distance of improvement through repetition.

PS: For more on Eklavya’s story, click here.

This is an essay written from the perspective of an examination requirement. Suggestions to improve this piece of writing are actively sought and welcome.

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