Passing Thoughts: Recognition, Purpose, and Light

Recognising Effort or Reward

Somewhere along the way, we stopped recognizing effort and started recognizing only rewards.

Becoming an entrepreneur and putting in the work to build something meaningful is no small feat. Yet, the effort often goes unnoticed – let alone acknowledged.

Earlier, as a product leader, recognition came for tangible achievements: launching an idea, optimizing a process, or driving revenue. But now, in the trenches of building something new, the validation isn’t as immediate or as obvious…

It’s the same in life. People celebrate when you get a CXO title, but few admire the same person when they step away from titles to spend meaningful time with their children.

As kids, we’re praised for trying: our first steps, our first words, our effort. But as we grow older, the focus shifts. The applause isn’t for the journey but for the destination. The effort matters less than the outcome.

I’m not complaining, but I do wonder: when did this flip happen? When did rewards become the means rather than effort in the right direction?

And if this shift does matter, how do we rewire ourselves to find meaning in effort again?

When Purpose Dissolves Into Existence

Light and color, each reveals the other.

Without light, there is no color. Without color, light is unseen. Our perception gives them meaning.

Of course, the reason we experience light as color is because of our biology: our eyes, photoreceptors, and visual cortex making light and color a fact.

In the same way, purpose and decisions reveal each other.

Without purpose, there is no decision. Without decisions, purpose has no form. Each gives the other meaning.

But unlike light, which exists objectively, purpose feels subjective. Which is why decisions can be difficult, even though we share the same neural machinery.

The same decision can lead to different consequences for you and me because our purposes diverge (the means are the same, but the goals are not).

But what I’ve realised is purpose isn’t as subjective as we often assume; when we zoom out far enough, all purposes dissolve into one fundamental reality – existence itself.

To exist is simple: Listen to your body. Breathe mindfully. Prioritize sufficiency.

When we align our decisions with this fundamental truth, purpose and decisions become as effortless as light revealing color.

Liked the article?

If it sparked a thought or made you pause, consider sharing it on LinkedIn – it might do the same for someone else.