What is the true meaning of hard work?
The title above is something which I think about way too often. As I am standing in my retail job serving customers with an overriding presence over myself, I start to question the true meaning of ‘working hard’ and its benefits in our lives.
Is it merely to meet society’s ever-changing demands for wealth?. A pressure straining upon ourselves’ daily?, or just a focal point to reach the finish of a never-ending quest for success?.
Again it is these questions, ideas that flood my mind (and maybe your’s too), to strive to ‘work smart’. Yet as I serve customers at my job, watching the clock tick by, and ‘working hard’ to achieve the successes of wealth, I doubt my very ability to be smart enough to succeed.
This proposition acts as a major strain against my efforts to contradict the values of our western, capitalist society, of which instills the message to ‘work hard’ (in order to get money, meet your soulmate, start a family, live life, etc).
Elon Musk himself once said that “no matter how hard you work, someone else is working harder”. A very truthful statement, from such a successful person who ‘worked hard’ to achieve what he had. Again, this leads me to think, does working hard against others who ‘work harder’ truly allows us to be happy in LIFE?.
To that question, I believe that working to achieving one’s goals is imperative, however expending the prime years of our lives to achieve that, instead of doing what will make us HAPPY, is a consequence. For instance, this may manifest within many post-graduates entering the workforce, instilled upon the notion to ‘work hard’ and get promoted, make money, whilst leaving behind values of happiness, in search for money. A promotion, a pay rise, a sale encapsulating their bliss, within the duration of work, for what?, to lose years where we should be finding happiness to the greeds of wealth?.
In light of this, I usually turn to the author Dodinsky, who believes that in spite of the losses of hard work, that the “key to being happy is knowing that you have the power to choose what to accept and what to let go.”
While accepting to ‘let go’ of hard working attitudes, leading to dead end jobs may be difficult, the benefits of anyone’s happy life will be forever lived.
Thank you.
