Acharya Prashant addresses the nature of effort, explaining that while trying is wonderful, there are two very distinct types. The first kind of effort is when one has already decided on a destination or goal. For instance, if one wants to go to Jaipur, the effort is only to know the route, which is insignificant information because the decision to go to Jaipur is already fixed. Similarly, if one has decided to murder someone, the effort is only about the means of murder, which is not an important question as the motive has already been decided. This is the kind of effort that 99% of people engage in. They have already frozen their concepts of life and their goals, and their effort is just to achieve these pre-decided objectives. This effort is of very little worth; it is not an effort to know the Truth but merely to achieve what one has already opinionated to be important and to keep one's opinions secure. This soul-sapping effort is wasteful, like commuting for hours for a job, pursuing degrees for a respectable career, or buying a car on EMI, all to please others and maintain one's assumptions. It is struggling for nothing. In contrast, there is another, more challenging kind of effort that only the truly courageous undertake. This effort involves being alright even if every single one of one's beliefs is devastated. This process hurts, especially in the beginning, because it requires putting one's core assumptions about life and relationships to scrutiny. The ego thrives on beliefs and opinions, and it takes tremendous energy to let them be challenged. This is what is called real, praiseworthy effort. This praiseworthy effort comes from one's individuality. Before exerting effort, one must first know what is truly worth striving for and where to put one's energy. Life and energy are not so cheap that they should be wasted on meaningless tasks just to please others. This real effort is about questioning the very goals one is striving for, and it is this kind of trying that is truly valuable.