Dr Shiam Chuttoo

Effort, habit and holding on: my EFFORT Model

A post I saved this week begins: “There is a generation that thinks cows GIVE milk.” Anyone who grew up near a farm knows the truth. Somebody gets up early, sits on a stool and works for every drop. The post ends simply: “Cows do not give milk. You have to work for it.”

Up the pole in a cyclone

Before I ever wore a nurse’s uniform I spent eight years with the Central Electricity Board in Mauritius, first as an apprentice electrician and then as a lineman. I climbed ladders and poles every day, in sun, in rain and in cyclone weather. The power did not come back on because someone wished for it. It came back because someone climbed.

When I came to the UK in 1988 I started again from the bottom and trained as a nurse. Later came social work, a PGCE and lecturing. At sixty-four I came back to bowls seriously. Each new start asked the same thing of me: turn up and do the work.

Confidence is a habit

Another page I read says confidence is something you build, little by little, through daily choices. It grows each time you step out of your comfort zone. I agree. Nobody hands you confidence. You milk it, one small effort at a time.

Rudyard Kipling said it in his poem If, first published in 1910. He asks us to “fill the unforgiving minute / With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run”, and to hold on when there is nothing left except the Will which says “Hold on!”

A word of care

One line in the cow post says God gives you what you deserve. I hold that line gently. As a nurse I cared for many good people whose suffering they did nothing to earn. Effort shapes much of what we receive. It does not explain every loss, and we should never use it to judge someone who is struggling.

My EFFORT Model

E	Expect nothing for free. The milk is in the cow, and the work is in your hands.
F	Face the cold water. As a saying I love puts it, cold water does not get warmer if you jump late. Start now.
F	Feed the habit daily. Confidence, skill and fitness grow in small daily portions.
O	Own your last mistake. Your best teacher is your last mistake. Look at it honestly and learn.
R	Rise and hold on. When it gets hard, remember Kipling’s Will that says “Hold on!”
T	Teach it while they are young. Share this with children early, so effort feels normal to them.

The lineman climbs, the nurse turns up for the night shift, the bowler practises on a cold Tuesday. None of them is waiting for the cow to give.

Pass it on, and let us learn together. If this post spoke to you, please share it with someone who needs it, and join my discussion group, where we talk these ideas through together. Tell me what you would like me to research next, perhaps something on effort, confidence or raising children: suggest a topic here. My other models are on my My Models page.

How I prepare my work. I prepare my work using every tool available to me: Google, Microsoft Word, and AI tools such as Claude and ChatGPT. The experience behind each piece is my own. I write as a former CEB lineman, a nurse, a social worker, a lecturer and a life coach, and as a man who lives between English, French and Hindi.

A word of caution. This blog is for education only. It is not medical, psychological or legal advice. Make sure you understand any technique before you use it, and remember you are responsible for your own actions. If you are struggling, please contact your GP or a health professional. © Dr Shiam Chuttoo 2026. The EFFORT Model (E Expect nothing for free, F Face the cold water, F Feed the habit daily, O Own your last mistake, R Rise and hold on, T Teach it while they are young) is his original work. Credit line: Source: Dr Shiam Chuttoo, The EFFORT Model, 2026. Use only with his permission or with clear credit to him. Work record: Ref DSC-BLOG-041126-02. Title: Cows Do Not Give Milk. Author: Dr Shiam Chuttoo. Created 4.11.26. All rights reserved.