Essay, Paragraph, Speech on “Expectation is Keener than Enjoyment” Long, Short Essay for School, College Students, essay for Class 8, 9, 10, 12 and Competitive Exams

Expectation is Keener than Enjoyment

A student begins his three-year course of study for his degree. He thinks proudly of the day when he will be able to write the magic letters “B. A.” after his name. How grand it will be to be a graduate! So term after term he works hard at his studies, always buoyed up with the hope of that final success. How slowly the weeks and months and years seem to pass! But at last they are over. The great day of the final examination arrives. Then follow the days of alternate hope and despair, as each paper is disposed of. When that is over, the days of suspense, waiting for the results, must be endured. At last the results; and with relief and joy he finds his name in the lists, and in the first division. Success! He is at last a real Bachelor of Arts! But soon comes the reaction. He gets used to being a B. A. What next? After all, “B.A.’s” are as common as blackberries. A dull feeling of disappointment creeps over him. And as he looks back over his four years of College life, he realizes that they, with all their work and effort, gave him more joy than his degree itself does. He learns the truth of Stevenson’s saying: “It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive.”

An ambitious young man sets out to make a fortune. Full of hope, he throws himself into his business with energy and enthusiasm. He is clever, quick-witted, strong-willed, courageous, hard-working, steady and persevering. Slowly his business grows and expands. As the years go on, he achieves success after success. Still unsatisfied, he re-doubles his efforts. The work is hard, but he loves it. He loves the excitement, the sense of power, the command over men, the ad-venture in the face of risks. At last final success is his. He has worked his way up from comparative poverty to great wealth. He is getting on in life. Now he will retire, and enjoy the fortune he has made. After all his years of strenuous toil, he can rest and do anything he likes. He retires from business. But it will not be long before he feels disappointment. He cannot rest. He misses the rush and excitement of business life. He finds life dull and stupid. Then he realizes that the joy was in the hunt, not in the capture. He learns that “expectations is keener than enjoyment”. Or, as Shakespeare puts it,

“All things that are,

Are with more spirit chased than enjoyed.”