How hard is hardworking?

In this article, I explore what it means to be hardworking and see some examples of very hardworking people and how they do that. Hard work is a very subjective topic. We all work hard at different things, even when this is nothing. You might be very hardworking and committed to doing nothing, that's still hard work. Hard work is subject to many factors, such as time (generations), location (country and community), sector of activity (white collar and blue collar), environmental factors, status, and much more.

Modern society requires us to be very hardworking, and the goal of this write-up is for you to realize just how much hard work is required of you to survive and thrive. I can’t cover all the possible scenarios, and as you can see, there are just so many factors to be taken into consideration, so I won’t be able to nail your particular circumstance, but I hope that from the little story I will tell, you can make an inference about your own life.

Types of Hard workers

An office space is the best way to illustrate this; in it, you have people of diverse nature.

• You have those who show up very early and get to work.
• Those who come in late,
• Those who don’t even bother to show up at all,
• Those who love their jobs and work at it with all they’ve got,
• Those who are just waiting for the time to run out and for them to head home,
• Those who know what they are doing and those who don’t

You have a very diverse nature of people in this environment, and this shows us the bigger picture of society in general. There are many factors that explain the dedication of everybody, some from the education they received and their mentality; others are because of the responsibilities they have and whether they work hard or not.

Realize where you are

Imagine a country like China, Nigeria, or India with all of its population. You can imagine how hard it would be to stand out. The default of the world isn’t that you are born and instantly valuable; actually, it's quite the contrary; you have to acquire value, which you can then trade for happiness (in a certain way), and so in a society where there is a huge crowd, that means you will have to work that much harder to stand out, that much harder to obtain value, and that much harder to become worthwhile since everyone is competing for the same resources (value).

Like I said, there are definitely factors that influence how hard you will have to work—a lot of them I can’t begin naming here. Being well aware of your context is very important. Unfortunately, what you often tend to see are people comparing themselves to each other, like they were at the same level or life was a level playing field. Some people make the mistake of assuming that we are all equal, and so they end up comparing themselves to others and believing that if they do just as much as the others, they should be getting the same results.

When you are unwilling to acknowledge where you are, you will keep missing the point; you will be stuck at the same level and never be able to break through, simply because you assume that you should be somewhere you aren’t. But acknowledging where you are and all the work which is left to do puts you at better odds

Going past comparison

Once you go past comparing yourself to others, there is another important realization you should have in mind, and that is to know where you actually want to go. What are you trying to accomplish in the end? Some people might be overly focused on the present, so they really work hard to make their present look beautiful, while others might be way more concerned with the future, so they put more energy into that. How far you are trying to go should determine how hard you should be working.

When you just want a cozy, humble lifestyle with just the bare minimum, then there really isn’t any need to work that hard, but when you are trying to conquer the world, then you should barely be getting any sleep. So knowing where you are and where you are trying to go are two very important tools that can determine how hard you should be working.

Hard work is the answer

This quote speaks volumes to me because there is so much hidden behind our hard work, not just for us to thrive but also for our happiness. When I say hard work here, I don’t mean you putting all your energy into your job; I mean you putting your energy into the things you want (even when that's nothing), you having a purpose, and you being laser focused on getting it done.

My eccentric friend

A friend of mine whom I’ve known for the past 20 years has dedicated his life to his business and, to date still works and lives in his store’s back room despite being a millionaire with a fully constructed house. Millions in the bank, houses built everywhere, and yet he still lives in the back room of his store, working every single day like it was the first. He dedicated his life, I won’t say, to being a success but rather to not failing, giving up relationships, fun, entertainment, clothes, and basically his youth, because he had a clear understanding of where he wanted to go.

How committed are you really to your goals?

There is a smarter way

it takes sheer hard work rooted in psychotic consistency in order to attain the biggest goals, working like a zombie every single day and hour of your life while making even the faintest progress and giving up on everything that has a semblance of fun to you despite navigating a wave of uncertainty with your only hope placed on seeing your dreams become a reality. The sacrifices you have to make, the pain you have to endure, the suffering you have to withstand, the loneliness you have to bear, the bonds you have to break, the punches you have to take, the wins you have to celebrate, and the losses you have to relegate.

Yet with a little smart, you can make this whole process easier

… to be continued

Thanks for reading ☺️

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