What’s becoming apparent to succeed, is to work smarter and not harder. There are however plenty of rewards realized when working hard, once we exert sweat equity. These can include learning to listen better, improving our communication skills and attitude, to improve our network and work experience.
What needs to be realized, is it takes more than effort to get the results we’re wanting. The need to go beyond “trying.”
What we’re taught, is hard work is considered a great virtue. Our parents worked hard, preached the value of working hard, this to get anywhere in life.
The foundation, the backbone of our economy, the world we enjoy today is a culmination of hard labor and dedication. This by farming or working in factories, where they were proud to work hard.
There’s no complement viewed as highly as someone saying, “You’re a hard worker.” What most consider is persistence, to be a highly valued trait.
Effort Is The First Step
Many think just trying, just “efforting” is enough. This isn’t saying effort isn’t needed, or hard work isn’t necessary, as it’s this forward progress that helps us reach our goals.
What’s known for certain, is what we need is to take positive action to get results. Work is required to achieve anything of value.
The argument isn’t “work” but rather the words “ work hard.” There are some things in this world that demands hard work however, and there always will be.
Virtues Of Working Hard
What working” hard” when taken to it’s extreme, is similar to someone constantly bashing their head against a concrete wall, wanting the wall to crack, this so they can break through. Not smart.
It’s obviously impossible to break through the hard concrete wall using our head, this to reach our goal. What would result is a bloody concussion.
What working smart does, is offers better ways to break through that wall. What this analogy does is exposes an important element of common sense and truth.
What we all know, is there are far better ways to break through that concrete wall, than using our noggins.
What’s available are a variety of tools, which would allow us to easily get the job done, which results in less pain and agony.
Hard Work Not Always The Answer
What the majority think however, is hard work is mandatory, and sacrifice is needed, this to get the things we want. The truth being, what we really need, is to do things smarter.
There are a variety of things and ways to do so, such as improving our personal selves.
The key, when we’re wanting to reach our goals, is to not work as hard, but to know what we’re capable of.
What needs to be discovered, is our natural talents and gifts we we’re born with, which lies dormant within us. Largely untapped, unrecognized, and thus not utilized.
How To Clean A Floor
There are two ways on how you can mop a floor. You can get on your hands and knees and use a paper towel, or you can stand up and use a mop.
Celebrating hard work, it’s similar to celebrating the paper towel. If all you have is a paper towel, it’s possible to get the floor clean.
If you knew there was a mop however, would you still use the paper towel? Most likely not.
Learning To Work Smarter And Not Harder
First identify what your gifts and strengths are. In order to use the mop, what you need to know is the mop even exists.
To take advantage of your unique talents, strengths, abilities, and gifts, you need to know they’re there.
You then need to use these gifts at all times, while using external sources to discover new ones. What this requires is time to reflect, which takes effort.
This task in itself, is when effort is needed. This is when the effort is worth it, to discover our strengths. Every time we use the mop, we save time and energy, completing the task sooner.
Forcing Yourself To Use Your Talents
Once you know what your strengths are, what you need is to allow yourself to use them. Maybe your boss or your mom, still uses a paper towel.
Using that paper towel may of been the most successful way for them in the past, but that doesn’t mean you have to use it.
Once you’ve identified what your talents are, you need to allow yourself to utilize them.
You need to find and then take the opportunity, to use your unique skills because once you use them, the results will be a lot more efficient.
Work On Improving Your Skills
Once you recognize your unique gifts, you should also know what your weaknesses are.
The key becomes to isolate them, while finding ways to improve on them, which is equally as important as nurturing your strengths.
What’s needed, is to spend as much time to improve and fix your deficiencies, as you do to improve and build up what you’re gifted at.
Using Your Potential
What you’ll also then get are better results for your efforts, because they’ll come more easier and more naturally.
Once you decide to adopt this process, you’ll begin to find whatever you’re doing, such as your job, easier and more enjoyable.
You’ll also find your results will come sooner and much more efficiently. What you’re striving for, is to get the results you want, with less effort.
Keep in mind it takes more than effort and sweat equity to get results, as what’s also needed is mindfulness by knowing what you’re good at.