New Year’s resolutions are easy to make, but as the months roll by, keeping them becomes increasingly difficult.
Writer Léo Malet once said: “Good resolutions are a pleasant crop to sow. The seeds spring up readily, and the blossoms open with a brave show, especially at first. But when the time of flowers passes, what as to the fruit?”
Bringing those blooming resolutions to full fruition is the hard part, which reminds me of my father’s advice: “Son, when you face a task, if there is not a logical reason to do otherwise, tackle the hard part first. Then, tackle the next hardest part, and so on until the job is done. The best way out is always through. Those who take the easy way out end up in the same place — out.”
Dad understood that when people postpone a job’s hard parts, they diminish the pleasure and sense of accomplishment the task may bring because they know the parts of the job they are reluctant to face remain undone. Dad’s wisdom has never failed me, especially in the classroom.
In dealing with college students, I strive to eliminate their weaknesses before improving their strengths. Some find this annoying and frustrating, and probably think I’m taking the easy way out. I disagree. The hard way requires first undertaking the more difficult task of eliminating irresponsible, counterproductive mindsets that hinder the learning process.
I’ve observed that many incoming college freshmen have been misled into believing the world owes them whatever they need or want. How wrong! The world was here first — it owes them nothing; they owe the world. A disturbing number of them believe that just showing up for class is good enough, that ignoring the hard tasks, studying and learning, is acceptable … what I call the “entitlement attitude.”
In my classes, students discover early on that they must abandon that attitude, or fail. Giving students what they don’t deserve is wronging them. They must be taught that earning one’s way in life is the only way to have a meaningful life.
They must learn to do the hard part first. They must be taught that nobody starts at the top; they must accept the reality that building a strong educational foundation is one of the hardest parts of becoming an honorable, productive member of society; they must realize that in the workplace, one of the hardest parts will be accepting and completing responsibilities that come with the initial steps of climbing the ladder to success. They must embrace the inviolable truth that anything worth having is worth struggling for.
Teachers must instill in students humility, and the certainty that an inflated view of one’s importance is bogus self-esteem. Winners are not prima donnas; winners are humble, self-reliant, productive people who take the hard steps first, and in time realize that doing so provides the experience that makes future steps easier.
My New Year’s resolution is to continue teaching students what Dad taught me: Do the hard part first.
Jimmy Reed is an Oxford, Mississippi resident, Ole Miss and Delta State University alumnus, Vietnam Era Army Veteran, former Mississippi Delta cotton farmer and ginner, author, and retired college teacher.
This story is a selection from Jimmy Reed’s latest book, entitled The Jaybird Tales.
Copies, including personalized autographs, can be reserved by notifying the author via email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
