Did you ever wait for the “right” circumstances to introduce yourself at a party until the party ended? Did you ever wait for the “right” circumstances to take a long vacation only to find that you couldn’t do it anymore? How many of us wait for the “right” circumstances before we take action? We wait for things to happen, for time to solve our problems, for miracles to happen. We may have to wait forever. Sure, things may change but not necessarily in the direction we want.

Often, while we’re waiting, we blow our main chance, which is to take action. Sometimes, waiting for the “right” circumstances is an excuse for not doing anything.

Have you seen the Great Wall of China? How was it built? Stone by stone, over many years. Many accomplishments are nothing but an accumulation of small actions taken every day. That’s the same for our life. Life is cumulative. It’s an accumulation of all the small things we have done or haven’t done, all the decisions we’ve made or haven’t made.

What we have now is mainly the result of what we have done in the past. The more time we have spent growing, showing appreciation, developing a positive attitude, the more we now get from life. The more we learn, the better we understand our world. Our savings or debts today are the results of what we sowed. If we plant the seeds of conflicts and confrontations, we harvest hurt. If we build friendships, we enjoy the companions. If we build our confidence through action, we become more capable. If we haven’t overcome our shyness or self-consciousness, it will remain a drag to us. If we haven’t learnt to be considerate, we will remain a pain to others.

We get from life what we put into it. If we remain passive and put in nothing, chances are we won’t get much. If we show appreciation and a positive attitude, chances are we will have many enjoyable relationships. If we have faith in our abilities and don’t give up, chances are we will develop our abilities. If we explore, we’ll know more about what’s available. If we do whatever it takes to get what we want, chances are we will get it.

What we do today determines what we will have in the future. If we want things to improve, we have to start with ourselves. We need to stretch out of our comfortable habits and do something new.

There is a popular saying which says, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” If we change what we do, we may get something different. If we can change ourselves in the right direction, we may get what we want. The accumulations of the little things we do every day can be powerful. With enough small steps, we can reach the summit of Mt. Everest. We don’t need to be Superman but we need to keep moving in the same direction. Knowledge, enthusiasm, action and persistence are what we need to get us to where we want.