SUCCESS THROUGH ENTHUSIASM

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SUCCESS THROUGH ENTHUSIASM

A Divine Dew from Sri Sai Satcharitra says "One must try his best and save himself" in Chapter II

Most people fail for want of enthusiasm than lack of ability. Success has come

to many who possessed only average intelligence but had a better than average

enthusiasm. "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm" said Emerson.

Enthusiasm literally means "fire within" and most of us have seen that fire

burning into a glow when the usually shy and reserved person is carried away

with some pet subject and which vitally interests him.

Interest can be cultivated. Most things can be interesting if we give them a

chance, but the interest must be of our own prompting. It is when our minds are

alert that we awake to the zest and the liveliness of the positive life.

The deadly enemy of enthusiasm is inaction. We are disinterested because we feel

and think timidly about things. Interest comes with a positive response to life.

Monotony is due to the fact that we are only using a small part of our

possibilities. "Compared with what we ought to be," said Dr. William James, "we

are only half alert. We are making part of our vast mental resources."

A keen person does not sit down and wait for things to happen. The symbol of his

mentality is a plus and not a minus. He is always saying "Yes" to life. He

shakes off his laziness, knowing that he can find interest in most of the

things he wants, if only he wants them hard enough.

Positive attitude towards life generates its driving force. To approach a task

with positive resolution is to enjoy the work.

It is said of Edison that on his wedding day he excused himself as he had some

work which needed his attention. Several hours later he was found so completely

engrossed in his experiment that he forgot that he had been married that day.

Having aroused our attention, we have to overcome the desire to change from one

thing to another. The person who changes like a butterfly from one interest to

another, never finds real satisfaction in anything. The fact that he quickly

gets tired of things is a mark of immaturity. Such a person’s day is usually

crowded with unfinished jobs. Butler said that the most important intellectual

habit is the habit of attending exclusively to the matter in hand.

The ability to concentrate on the matter in hand until the job is finished has

always been one of the vital secrets of success in any field.

When Toscanini reached the age of eighty, his son was asked what the great man

considered the greatest moment of his life. His reply was: "Whatever he happens

to be doing at the moment is the big thing in his life – whether it is

conducting a musical orchestra or peeling off an orange."

Enthusiasm grows as we discipline ourselves to concentrate upon matter in hand.

Enthusiasm is the secret of making routine agreeable. It is the secret of a

healthy adjustment to the tasks from which we cannot escape.

Focus all your attention on the task. "Where men are rightly occupied," writes

Ruskin, "the pleasure grows out of the work as the colourful petals come out of

a fruitful flower."

If, on the other hand, we fail to find satisfying occupation in our daily work,

it is all the more urgent that we should find absorbing interest in other

spheres. If our daily task is a routine job, then it is up to us to find an

outlet that will fight out mental stagnation. But let those interests be

creative.

It is up to us stimulate interest and enthusiasm. Idle dreaming will get us

nowhere. Enthusiasm is born when we wake up and realize that many things are

waiting to be enjoyed right now.

( Written by J. Lloyd Woodhouse.)

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