Working Hard

Some friends and I were recently discussing the times in our lives that we’ve worked the hardest.

This idea of “hard work” is thrown around so often in our culture. It is integral to the American way of being.

But what does it actually mean?

Is it a measurement of input? The number of hours that one has logged on a particular activity? Many people log long hours, but lack true focus.

Perhaps this — focus — is the meaning of hard work. Hard work is a measurement of the efficiency with which we push forward upon our goals.

But then again one can be efficient, without being effective. It’s possible (and quite common) to forge ahead efficiently in the wrong direction.

And then there’s the question of what work is in the first place.

Is it that which others are willing to pay us for?

Artists and entrepreneurs and students often invest their energy into activities that take a long time to (if ever) produce a positive economic return.

Parents meanwhile invest their energy into activities that typically produce a net-negative economic return.

Can these all be considered forms of work?

Maybe “hard work” is a measurement of output — the impact that our activities have on the world around us. This impact, though, might be positive, might be negative, and is almost guaranteed to be subjective.

Could it be that “hard work” is in fact not the metric that we should be focused on at all?

Perhaps we should first bring clarity to our vision — of how we’d like our life to unfold, what we’d like our impact to be, and why we’re living in the first place. We can then invest our energy into crafting a process that enables us to push ahead toward this vision in the remaining years that we have.

Clearly, hard work is a necessary ingredient to get there. But it should be viewed as a means to an end rather than the end itself.

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