Avoid this Mindset If You Don’t Want to Make Hard Work Harder
It’s healthy to embrace hard work. You may even call a person who embraces hard work virtuous. However, what would you call someone who constantly makes hard work harder to no end? I’m talking about someone who does it the hard way not because it makes them better, but because they don’t know better.
A cynic might call that type of person stupid. But it’s not fair to be that harsh to someone who doesn’t know better, so a better description would be naïve. Yet, if one knows better and still chooses not to do better, then the cynic is right.
Today, I’m going to make sure you know better about hard work so you can do better. You won’t be able to use naïveté as an excuse for making hard work harder to no end any longer.
The Two Mindsets of Hard Work
It’s simply a fact of perception that hard work gets harder when your mind is focused ONLY on the outcome. This is the outcome mindset. The outcome mindset is when you only focus on the end, your goal. Whether it’s winning, finishing, a monetary reward, fame, beauty, a test score, grades, rankings, or another extrinsic reward. When those types of outcomes are all that matters, your mind gives all its power to things outside of your control, while the hard work that is within your control becomes a burden.
Furthermore, each time you complete an act of hard work, and you don’t see yourself getting any closer to the outcome you want, your mind starts playing tricks on you. Your mind tells you that your hard work isn’t paying off. Moreover, your motivation to achieve the outcome you want decreases. Eventually, as the days, weeks, and months go by, and the hard work continues to feel harder and harder, your motivation goes to zero.
On the other hand, those who persevere with hard work have a process mindset. The work is a way of life regardless of the outcome. People who have a process mindset are willing to work hard even when their goal is beyond the horizon. It’s not that they don’t see themselves reaching their goal, or they don’t care about reaching their goal. It’s just that the goal is not what’s motivating them. What motivates them is being in control.
What’s more, there is no way you can control the outcome. You can only control the process. Therefore, the best way to be a hard worker is to work your hardest to focus on the things you control.