There are people that work really hard so much so that from the outside looking in, you wonder why they work so hard, what could be the reason for such amount of dedication and persistent work?
In some cases, to the person doing this perceived hard work, it isn't necessarily hard work to them, at least not from their point of view. Perhaps, to them, it's just doing what needs to be done to get to where they need to go.
What I'm trying to say is that hard work can be relative, and at times, the cost of hard work is nothing compared to the value it brings.
For example, what may seem like a grueling decade of hard work to build a solid foundation or achieve lasting freedom can be a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.
In a way, having clarity on what we want out of life reduces much of the "heaviness and dislike-able-ness" of hard work, especially knowing that life isn't meant to be easy. Hard work is baked into the system of life, just as challenges are baked into every endeavor.
The problem however, is that working hard for the sake of working hard can be excruciatingly painful, exhausting and so unfulfilling.
This usually happens when clarity is lost or when hard work is misdirected or the essence of it is lost. For the most part, I think when we lack a clear vision or purpose, any amount of work can seem daunting and unfulfilling.
This could explain why in our modern world we're increasingly prioritizing comfort and convenience over hard work and perseverance.
A Natural Disconnect
I think the main culprit is that our way of life has swung too far towards easiness thanks to the hard-earned progress and technological advancements brought about by those who came before us. But then, is life really meant to be easy and effortless?
Smart work is often perceived or marketed as "superior" to hard work, with a relatively less input that yields more output than hard work.
Quite recently, I realized that smart work is the result of hard work, it is the seed that brings forth smart work, its fruit. The idea that smart work can happen independently without hard work is at best a tempting illusion, and at worst, a recipe for failure.
From my experience, what usually happens when we try to put in smart work without hard work is quite similar to making a photocopy of a full colored image into a black and white image, in terms of outcome or results.
For one, the depth, richness, and nuance of the original idea or concept may be lost, resulting in a diluted or oversimplified version that's quite disconnected from its source.
In practice, what's hardcoded into a system can't simply be changed or ignored; it's like an immutable law. Yes, we can add, subtract, divide, or multiply elements of the system, but the core essence of hard work will still remain.
In actual practice, embrace hard work just as you would gladly welcome a surprise visit from your childhood best friend.
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