Weekly Motivation: Hard work or Smart Work

This week on our Weekly Motivation Corner, we will be talking on the topic ''Hard work or Smart Work.''

Read and be motivated.... 

It has always been a recurrent mantra to echo the benefits of hardwork on the journey of success. Success has been defined as 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration; history is filled with the hectic schedules of great men that have graced the earth’s surface. 

In his last years, Albert Einstein still put in great amounts of hours studying and writing despite suffering an abdominal aortic aneurysm that caused severe pain to his abdominals and was accompanied by vomiting. Mchael Jordan practiced every day for at least three hours, and shocked the world when he went on to play a game despite being extremely sick with the flu (he was just honored by President Obama with America highest civilian honor). 

But in recent years, emphasis has been placed more on smart work especially in an information and digital age that we currently live in. It seems that the amount of knowledge/information you have is the edge needed to advance these days, so much so that the individuals who do the hardest jobs actually earn the lowest pay. Has hardwork been relegated? The truth lies in the definition of hardwork; as defined by the Oxford dictionary, hardwork is a great deal of effort or endurance.

Whilst it may be true that mere hardwork cannot guarantee success, the question then is; where is the hardwork directed? Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘If I had five minutes to cut down a tree, I would spend the first three sharpening my axe’. There are therefore three types of people; those who work hard only cutting the tree, those who work hard only sharpening the axe, and those who sharpen the axe and then work hard cutting the tree. 

To be anything worthwhile, you must work smart and then work smart. Working hard then becomes the foundation of success, because becoming smart actually requires a great deal of self-development which in turn requires hard work.

Next time someone says, ‘you need to work smart and not hard’, remind them that even becoming smart requires a great deal of hard work. Cause and effect is a very important law that keeps the whole world in check, ideally we all believe we should be compensated adequately based on the efforts we have put in. That is why communism is frowned upon in most countries of the world. 

Work hard to be smart and then work hard to put your smart ideas to reality. A lazy man can never create anything, seize opportunities, or march forward. Lazy people lie down in the comfort of their beds and wish for things to happen, hardworking people go out and make things happen.

We hope this piece was helpful and motivational. For any inquiry, comments and questions, please drop your comments and questions on the comment box below and we will reply you swiftly. 

Author: Imonitie Imafidon