Do not judge each day by the harvest you reap.
Robert Louis Stevenson
But by the seeds you plant.
When we visit a garden, we tend to judge it based on what’s growing: the shrubs, the trees, the flowers. And most visibly, the fruits. Very rarely do we focus on the soil: how fresh it is, how much water it gets, and what nutrients it receives. We also pay little attention to the seeds: what types of seeds are used, where they come from, and how you plant them.
We often apply the same lens to evaluate ourselves. What “fruits” do I see?
- How much money do I have?
- How many accolades have I received?
- What is my job title?
- How much influence do I have?
- How impactful is my work?
We get fixated on the fruits. We are disappointed when our garden doesn’t look as fruitful as we expected. We want to see fruits right now.
The worst is when we compare to our neighbor’s garden, which always looks splendid and delightful. We may even yell at the tiny little fruit we do have. “Why don’t you grow?” Quite comical if you think about it, isn’t it?
Fruits grow way after you plant good seeds in healthy soil. They are an outcome, which you can’t control. The only thing you can do is to focus on the input: the invisible stuff.
Cultivate the soil when no one is looking. Water it every day. Give it the best nutrients. Sow the seeds that will yield the fruits you want. If you want apples, don’t sow orange seeds. Plant as many good seeds as possible, for you don’t know which one will yield.
It takes patience. It will look like nothing is happening for days, weeks and months. But eventually something will sprout. No matter what, you keep going and repeating the same thing, day after day.
That’s only the way to grow fruits.