No matter how hard we try or how much effort we put in, I don’t think the outcome has much to do with the amount of effort itself.

Sometimes I wonder whether this belief is just an excuse—a way to justify my own fear, laziness, or feelings of inadequacy.

But when I look at it honestly, independent of my own emotions, the idea that effort is inherently meaningless and that success has little to do with effort feels far more realistic. Even if effort increases the probability of success, it almost certainly increases the probability of disappointment as well. The moment we believe we deserve something simply because of what we’ve put into it, we’re setting ourselves up for unhappiness. Effort naturally creates expectations. The more effort we invest, the more entitled we feel to a particular outcome. And that feeling rarely brings anything other than frustration.

Maybe that’s why people long for some final destination—a point where everything finally falls into place, where life unfolds according to their wishes and every effort is rewarded. Setting aside the fact that such a place probably doesn’t exist, this illusion prevents us from appreciating the only thing that actually exists: the process itself.

The only certainty waiting for us in the future is death. No matter what you do or what kind of life you live, that’s where every path ends. Nothing is guaranteed, and nothing is truly owed to us. Living in anticipation of reaching that imaginary destination only makes us forget to experience the journey.

That’s why I think doing something you genuinely love is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. To me, pursuing something you love doesn’t really feel like effort—or at least, it’s nothing like the kind of effort required to keep walking a path you never wanted to be on in the first place. In a world where everything seems to unfold randomly, effort itself feels meaningless. Someone walking the path they truly want to walk will enjoy each step regardless of where it leads. Someone walking a path they never wanted will see effort as worthwhile only if it ends in success. Disappointment then becomes inevitable.

Lately, I’ve been feeling like a failure. I haven’t even had the energy to do the things I genuinely want to do. Maybe I’m approaching everything the wrong way. Maybe I’m taking the wrong steps. Or maybe nothing is actually wrong, even if everything isn’t exactly going well.

Still, I’ve realized that I need to pull myself together a little.

Regardless of the outcome, I know I’m walking a path that I respect and genuinely enjoy. I don’t think I have any real expectations, yet I find myself feeling restless. Maybe I simply forgot this perspective for a while. Maybe I allowed myself to expect too much and started feeling that my “effort” wasn’t enough to justify those expectations. Realizing this as I write these words makes me strangely happy. It’s a reminder that I should be enjoying the process instead of obsessing over the destination.

And finally, don’t forget: everything is arbitrary. Everything that happens is random. Joy, pain, happiness, sadness—every single bit of it.

So live.

That’s the only thing you really have to do.

I’ll leave one of my favorite poems below: