“Work Hard Dream Big,” “Work hard and be nice,” “Nothing worth having comes easy” etc. are some of the countless quotes on “hard work” that we grew up with and are still surrounded by. Successful people are often heard talking about how discipline, hard work and being calm and nice help you be successful in this world. But then, when the concept of hard work was still reigning came this notion of “work smart not hard.”
It gained a lot of attraction since it projected hard work as a task of labor being done without any thought. However, both notions are similar as they are focused on progressing ahead in life by achieving something better than normal. Hard work was never a proponent of illogical work; it was simply an expression of dedication towards whatever is being done. Still, why do we need them? Why do we have to do it the hard way?
Shouldn’t there be an ease with which one executes a task? Well, I think we do it the hard way just because somewhere we don’t know how to do it. At least that’s how it should be perceived. What I mean is instead of nurturing the young ones with this concept of hard work why don’t we expose them to working joyfully.
I believe work should be an expression of our jubilance, our love and not struggle. People today complain about not having enough time for themselves because of being too busy with their work or job. Work consumes a lot of their energy. But if we closely observe this very nature of the modern work custom one can conclude that people today are more preoccupied than busy. They are preoccupied with their thoughts and emotions. They are more occupied by what to do instead of what needs to be done. They think that it is work that they combat with but in reality, they are struggling with themselves.
What people fail to understand is that there is nothing on this planet that can make us happy except ourselves. I remember these two famous quotes of Gautama Buddha, “Happiness does not depend on who you are or what you have, it solely relies on what you think” and “There is no path to happiness. Happiness itself is the path.” We are specifically made to learn how peace is the ultimate goal of life although it is peace with which everything should be done. Failing to understand this very nature of life has, what I think, resulted in the concept of “work-life balance.”
Whenever we say work-life balance we somewhere project work to be something that is important to do but it is life that we need in addition to enjoy. Why can’t we enjoy work? Isn’t that a part of life? An average individual spends more than 50 percent of his waking hours working. If we keep applying this definition of life and work, we will always wait for our work to end just like we wait for weekend to come. If you are conscious and fully aware of what you are doing, you will only do what is most important at that moment.
Certainly, you will be in “present tense” and let go of the “past and the future tense.” Once this is achieved no motivation or forceful discipline will be necessary to do any job. If every human being on this planet becomes conscious of her or his actions this earth is sure to become a wonderful place to live.
One Response
Hello there!
I’m a college student. I was looking for content on how to enjoy hard work for academics and carrier. Then, i went through this article, it is so engaging, easy to understand and most importantly i can relate these ideas to my experiences.
Favourite lines:-
> What to do instead of what needs to be done.
> it isn’t work, but we are struggling with ourselves.
> Be in “present tense” and let go of the “past and the future tense.”