Why marks don’t matter

There are always people around, who say, “Score good marks in your exams.” I would say, it’s a fine advice, but I would also say that it is not something that will help someone in the present world all the time.

Most people only go for the results. “Score more marks.” When you will grow up, they’ll say, “Earn more money.” Typically a never-satisfied condition. These are called result-oriented people, i.e., these people only care about what you do and what you have done, they don’t even want to have a glimpse of how you will do that thing. This is what is the bad thing about result-oriented people.

On the other hand, process-oriented people are those, who think that how someone will do his work is more important then what is the outcome of their work. Successful people of this kind are those who actually are able to make a mark on the society and make better people for a better society. These people will question you for your works, not for your results. They say, do this instead of get this or bring this. A result-oriented person would either appreciate or ridicule you for your result, but a process-oriented person would appreciate you for your work, not for your result. This is the difference between process-oriented and result-oriented people.

Unfortunately, most people in the society, have been trained to be result-oriented, and so they do as per they are trained. They do exactly how a result-oriented person would do, just question about the result, appreciate if the result is good and ridicule if the result is bad. And the worst part is, don’t provide any guidance to do better. Many people say do this, do that, but don’t really teach you HOW to do that—which is the actual thing they are expecting you to learn. 

Think of it this way, you have a cow calf. You expect it to be a cow when it grows up. You also want it to be healthy so that it becomes immune to diseases. You also want its milk to be of good-quality. Now, all of that expectation can only come true if you provide the calf enough care and feed it nutritious food so that it can grow into a healthy cow.

Making a good-student is pretty-much like making a healthy cow. If enough and proper care is provided, then they become capable of easily meeting our expectations. And this is where most people get blindfolded. They think that results are to be met without the privileges provided, which cannot be an acceptable case in our nature. Our world simply just doesn’t work that way. You can’t grow a plant without watering it, and you can’t improve a student without guiding him/her. The great guidebook of India, the Bhagwad Gita, says, “Keep on doing the works, don’t worry about your results. If your works are good, then your results will automatically be good. But if your works are bad, then your results will be bad.”

I would also suggest this to you. Everytime, the situation isn’t bad. So if you are not able to achieve something, don’t always blame the situation, or your guides, for your failure. This is because they can’t always be wrong. Realise the fact that YOU might be the one who needs updation. Always be ready yourself, and then make others ready for changes to occur. This is the advice that will work for anyone and everyone, anytime and everytime. Keep your mindset flexible, not stiffened. This is the message I have been trying to bestow upon you.