A friend once said, “I want to be recognized for the effort I put in, not the results.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately, especially as it relates to my kids. I think so often we’re focused on the result (whether they get the A in school or hit the home run at Little League) as opposed to whether they are maximizing the effort and whether they are giving whatever it is that they do their all.

Speaking for myself, I always give everything my max effort. Good or bad, I pride myself on giving it 100% all the time.

But are we focused more on the effort or the result, or both? Not all kids are straight-A students. Certainly, I wasn’t, but I can honestly say that I did try hard. School just never came easily to me or naturally to me. Similarly, sports were the same thing. I love baseball, always have. I was very good at it, but never as good as others or as naturally gifted as some, so I had to outwork everybody else.

How that has manifested itself in me as an adult is that it has left this insatiable hunger to always outwork others and, no matter what the result, give 110%.

Both of my kids are incredibly smart and very talented in different ways, and yet they don’t always give that effort.

As a parent, it can be very frustrating at times to watch that. To see so much incredible potential not being realized just because they don’t want to or they’re a little bit lazy.

Now, by all means, I am extremely proud of my children. Honestly, I’m incredibly proud of both. My daughter just completed her bat mitzvah, which was something that she fought and fought us on, but ultimately came out on the other side successful and incredibly proud.

I’m still left with that question: is the result more important than the effort, or is the effort more important than the result?

Something to ponder. What is more important?

Greatness in whatever you consider great. That definition is all yours.

-J.D.