Part II — Questions and answers on running

Question: Why is it so difficult to progress or excel in sports?

Sri Chinmoy: In life, fortunately or unfortunately, nothing is easy. If things are easy, then we will be satisfied with our self-complacent life. Like a frog, we have to jump, jump, jump! If things are easy, if we always succeed, then we won't value our capacities or appreciate our achievements. At every moment we must value not only our successes and achievements but also the efforts we make. We must value at every moment not only what we become but what we are doing in the process of becoming. We cannot separate the effort from the result. Unfortunately, we do not appreciate our efforts. We admire and adore only the result. For years and years we practise hard. Then, in ten seconds the race is over. Afterwards, the world only remembers that there was a champion in Helsinki or Melbourne or Mexico. But for that, how many years of preparation did it take? Four, eight, ten, twelve years! This the world doesn't appreciate. It only appreciates the victory, not the preparation.

From:Sri Chinmoy,The outer running and the inner running, Agni Press, 1984
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/ori