As a new academic year is about to begin, I find it timely to discuss achievements. Whether you are one of our teachers, are currently an ABQ student, or have recently graduated to join university, I trust you will find this helpful information.

Gjert Ingebrigtsen, an athletics coach and father of the 21-year-old Tokyo 1500 meters Olympic gold medalist, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, recently stated that “the importance of talent in achieving results is overrated. It’s about getting up in the morning and doing the job”. He is of the opinion that structure, effort and consistency are more important for success than ability.

We can easily transfer this to education, as the academic performance of a student is largely down to effort and ability. However, high-ability students are rarely successful without consistent efforts, whereas less astute students, who consistently put in the hours, are usually high achievers.

In other words, it’s not about how intensely you want it, but rather how persistently you are willing to endure pain for it. You are unlikely to succeed if you want the reward and not the struggle. Our struggles determine our successes, so choose your battles wisely. All learning hurts, but there can be no space between what you want to happen, and what you’re willing to do to make it happen. Appropriately, such a space is what distinguishes success from failure and progress from stagnation. The bigger the gap, the greater the collapse.

Happiness requires exertion, and your academic achievement forms the base for your future happiness. The points you need to prevail in your exams are all around you. They are in every lesson, every day of every week. You find them in your attitude and your actions, in your passion and your persistence. They abide in your creativity, your self-discipline and your desire to improve. You must give each of those points your all, not only for success in exams but also because they transform to constitute the skills and knowledge you need in life. As such, life is a mere game of points. The margin for error is so small that every class or moment wasted might be the difference between accomplishment and what could have been. The good news? It is all up to you. Just remember, it’s not about what you want, but what you are willing to do to get it.