What is described as “common wisdom” varies widely from person to person, largely due to differences in culture, upbringing and background. However, it can also be seen that the ideas shared through common wisdom are usually very similar, if not the same. Two such ideals are that patience is a virtue and that hard work pays off in the long run. Combine these two, and they can provide a valuable scale for gauging the long-term value of hard work done in the present.
Quote of the day
“Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.”- William Arthur Ward.
The quote above first appeared in the May 1963 edition of the Oklahoma City Star, attributed to William Arthur Ward (1921-1994). Regarded as one of America’s most prolific motivational writers, Ward is credited with authoring more than 4,000 epigrams, or positive sayings, throughout his career.
Over time, this quote has more commonly appeared with the phrasing, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant”, and misattributed to Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, who passed away decades before the quote was ever published.
What does the quote mean?
Drawing imagery from farming, Ward makes a point about how we measure our days. A harvest is the immediate success, the visible payoff for work done in the past. Seeds, however, are the “invisible work”, the work which won’t bear its results until much later.
The advice Ward aims to give is to resist judging a day by its visible successes, since there are always days that provide no achievements to speak of. Instead, we should measure a day by the groundwork we lay for future successes, dismissing these means dismisses the quiet and essential work and effort that makes this proverbial “harvest” possible.
In layman’s terms, a good day isn’t one where you achieve the most success; it’s the day that allows you to lay the foundations for larger, future successes.
Why it is important today
In a culture that rewards results over anything else, a mindset that focuses on the long term rather than the short term can make the invisible work of building foundations for success feel unnecessary or unneeded.
It is important to remember that any success seen today has its roots in work done in the past, even if it isn’t visible. Careers, skills and even relationships take effort and commitment over long periods of time to truly flourish. In fact, it is often the case that the days where there is no visible success are where the seeds for a future harvest, or a future success, are planted.
Just because there is slow progress does not mean there will be no result. Judging our days and ourselves by the seeds we plant, rather than the harvest we bear, is important, even if a quick-result-focused culture doesn’t agree.
Life lessons from here
- Effort counts even when results don’t show
A day spent planting never bears its results on the same day
- Don’t confuse slow with unproductive
Just because results don’t reveal themselves fast, it doesn’t mean they will never appear. The most important work is often invisible.
- Play the long game
Effort is cumulative. It will show itself over time.
- Judge your processes
Results can be outside of your control. Reflect on what you can, your process. It is fully in your control.
- Consistency compounds
One seed changes nothing; planting more and more day by day is what will fill the field in the long run.
