This is a line from a book Chu Shih-ching published in 2014, and I relate to it deeply. When pursuing our ideals, we often feel anxious in our hearts, uncertain about the future, which makes us panic. Beyond adding to our anxiety, we can't settle our minds, causing us to do things bit by bit without seeing results and quickly giving up — possibly never picking them back up again.
But there is an unchanging truth from ancient times to now: persistence transforms quantity into quality. "No one said dreams have to happen all at once." This approach means we must first have a grand dream to pursue, then use each stage of life to break that dream into smaller goals. As we complete each small goal step by step, we eventually reach the finish line.
Using myself as an example, I've loved writing long-form articles since elementary school. But these articles centered on "idols." Many fans would rewrite their idols' personalities and stories, post them on platforms, imitate novel openings, and carefully develop the relationships of characters they created. Sometimes, they even projected their idol obsessions onto their writing. This period lasted about a year, and I wrote three or four novels in succession, each with around twenty installments. While these records probably can't be found online anymore, and the stories themselves are fuzzy in my memory, I was quietly training my interest in and skill at writing long-form pieces.
I remember in high school, my grades were at the bottom of the class, except Chinese, where I consistently ranked in the top three. But I didn't think I had studied particularly hard. Then came a mock exam for the national college entrance exam — my Chinese essay earned the highest score in the class. Out of 45 points, I scored 41. That year's theme was "The Wish of X," where X could be substituted with any person, event, or thing. During the exam, I changed my theme twice, and finally settled on "The Wish of a Tree." I remember writing in the article, "A tree just stands there, letting others speak about it, unable to respond, only able to look up at the sky, gazing at the small patch of blue, waiting for others to understand." Of course, the original wording probably wasn't exactly this, but that year, having gone through difficulties with classmates, my teacher felt the article fully expressed the yearning to be understood, so they gave me a high score.
Later, entering university, for a while I really wanted to become a 'columnist.' Despite the writing experience I had accumulated, I couldn't find a suitable topic to write about, nor did I know what material I had that was worth writing. It wasn't until graduate school, when I had to write three-thousand-character short reports almost every two or three weeks, that things changed. At first, I really couldn't write them at all. When I heard my professor say "everything you write here is nonsense," I almost cried. Eventually, I was trained to the point where if the professor asked for three thousand characters, I'd submit eight thousand. Beyond everything being rooted in passion, I also gradually developed patience.
My first job after graduation was completely a training ground for speed. While I didn't need to be too particular about word choice and content, the output was seven news articles during eight working hours — almost one per hour. From finding topics to drafting and finalizing, everything had to be done quickly. In my current position, I piece together logical, structured, and substantive articles within 20 minutes. This has trained me so that I can now write pieces that touch hearts without needing much thought or deliberation, and I can complete them quickly. My writing may not be particularly elegant, but at least I can enter others' minds. This all comes from past experiences. Recently, I was very fortunate to be invited to become a 'columnist,' quietly fulfilling a long-held dream. Two years ago, I also completed my dream of publishing a book as an author. This entire period of cultivation spans from elementary school to society — almost 15 years.
"No one said dreams have to happen all at once." When we were young, we imagined becoming teachers, professors, lawyers, doctors, engineers, and various other professions. Every single thing requires corresponding effort and dedication behind it — it doesn't come from nowhere. Therefore, when facing our dreams, we must be strong. Think of grand goals, divide time into segments, set objectives for each stage, complete small goals first, firm up our resolve, and move forward step by step — and we can accomplish great things.
