Don't Scorn a Small Platform — Young Officers and Soldiers Must Stand Firm at Their Posts and Work Diligently
● As long as you carry responsibility in your heart, perform your duties faithfully, and work with your head down, even a small platform can yield great accomplishments and reflect the value of one's life.
Recently I heard a leading cadre give a lecture in which he told the young comrades present not to scorn a small platform — "no matter the size of the platform, you can always make something of yourself" — intending to admonish young people to cherish their posts and stand firm at their posts to work diligently. This viewpoint carries significant instructive meaning for the growth and development of young officers and soldiers.
"Platform" refers broadly to one's work unit, post, environment, and so on. When doing work and building a career, the platform is indeed important, but whether one is able to accomplish anything is not determined by the platform. In reality, some comrades place excessive weight on the platform, even subscribing to the belief that "a good platform beats doing good work." For example, some feel that a small platform offers no room to display their talents and lament that they are talented but unrecognized; some are dissatisfied with the platform they are on, and rather than tempering and improving themselves, they let their minds wander — "the grass is always greener on the other side"; and still others are unwilling to work in hardship areas or at the grassroots front line, disdain doing small and trivial things, and believe such work cannot showcase their worth. In all these cases, the cognitive error lies in one-sidedly linking platform to achievement, and in blindly believing that only a big platform or a good platform can produce better results. One must understand that although platforms vary in level and size, results must be achieved through solid, down-to-earth effort — strong capability and quality, and a steady work style, are what is fundamental. If you cannot put your nose to the grindstone and are unwilling to work diligently, then even with a big platform or a good platform, you may be unable to shoulder the corresponding responsibilities or produce the results you should. If your talent does not match your position, you will ultimately be eliminated by the platform.
No matter what platform a person is on or what post they occupy, they should treat the platform and the post as a ladder for growth and a stage for getting things done. Wang Yuchang, a recipient of the "July 1st Medal," joined the military at the age of 18. He studied missile knowledge assiduously, improved missile material loading technology and assembly methods, participated twice in shooting down U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, and made outstanding contributions to the national defense cause. After transferring back to his hometown, he buried his merits and fame deep within himself and was content to work as an ordinary department store sales clerk, working diligently and making quiet contributions day after day for decades. Practice has proven that whether or not one can produce results has never been determined by the size of the platform or the level of the post. "The moss flower, small as a grain of rice, also learns to bloom like the peony." No matter how small the platform or post, as long as you carry responsibility in your heart, perform your duties faithfully, and work with your head down, even a small platform can yield great accomplishments and reflect the value of one's life.
Everyone's development is inseparable from a certain platform, and every platform can be a place to render meritorious service and achieve something remarkable. Wang Yuchang said: "I am a brick for the Party — place me wherever I am needed." For young officers and soldiers, advancing on the journey of building a strong nation and a strong military, there is much to be accomplished no matter which post in the military you occupy. When facing post assignments and transfers, you must do whatever work you are assigned to, without bargaining or picking and choosing, and resolutely subordinate yourself to the needs of the overall situation and the arrangements of the organization. You should make full use of the conditions and environment provided by your current platform, give full play to your subjective initiative (主观能动性), start from the front line, start from small things, go all out to do your job well, and grow in talent and create real results through gradual accumulation, solid tempering, and striving to be first-rate. "Do not worry that you have no position; worry about whether you have what it takes to stand in one. Do not worry that no one knows you; seek to become someone worth knowing." As long as you do your work well on the current platform, accumulate rich experience, forge strong capabilities, and achieve solid results, you will certainly gain the recognition of the organization and the support of the people, thereby achieving growth and advancement and playing an even greater role on a broader platform.