Hard work pays off
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Sitting around through Christmas always makes me antsy. I’ve eaten way too many sweets, had a few too many day drinks, and have done nothing strenuous in days. However, waking up this morning was different than the days before, I actually did something. You see, last night brought in the cold air and the snow, so waking up this morning I had a purpose. I had to shovel the driveway.
The interesting thing is that even though it was -16° outside, I wanted to go and shovel. The last few days of sitting around and consuming without producing left me feeling a little lackluster. I was missing my mission, I was missing a purpose.
While I was shoveling the driveway I was really happy. There was no agenda, no time frame, no set rules. All that there was, was a job to do. A job to do good work and leave the driveway back in its better state.
During the shoveling, I reflected on my life and realized this has happened to me many times. I do not get fulfillment from my life when I sit around and do nothing. I get fulfillment when I am proud of the work I do. So often in life, I wish I had fewer responsibilities and less work to do. But, I do not believe that is what I truly desire. I think work is the point, and perhaps hard work is the answer.
I have never finished a project that I was proud of and wished it was easier. It is the difficulty and overcoming that difficulty that makes it something to be proud of. Instead, I believe it is the shallow work that needs to go away. Without the shallow work, there is more time and more focus for the hard Deep Work.
If retirement is the end goal, let us ask why that is? Most people I know that retire are much happier when they have a purpose when there is a project to work on. So, if that is the case then maybe retirement is not about no longer needing to work, but instead it is about having the freedom of schedule to work on what you want for the amount of time it takes to finish.
With that in mind, it makes me wonder what is in my power to live a happier life. One simple thing is to choose the path that does not shy away from challenges and growth. I shall not choose the path that is simple as the best path is seldom the one that appears the easiest. The easy path has a difficulty of its own, it is the hidden difficulty of not growing as a human and that is truly the hardest path of all.
The trick then is finding the balance between completing the hard work that you are proud of and the activities that allow you to rest and recover. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” is very true but “no work and all play” creates a void of accomplishments that you are proud of. I have found time and time again that progress begets progress and rest begets rest. By finding a balance of enough progress and enough rest you can sleep soundly with a feeling of success and no burnout.
Having more than one pursuit gives both rest and synergy. When I do a workout my brain can work on problems I was stuck on at work, when I am woodworking I learn skills that apply to other areas of my life and when I work as an Engineer it applies to every other area of life (relationships, problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication). It is the same principle for blogging. As I write these words down not only can I hopefully inspire at least one other person to improve their everyday life but also it organizes the thoughts I have in my head and it improves my communication.
Try it yourself, are any of your great memories of taking the easy street? Have you ever been proud of yourself when something was trivial?
