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The Lies We Tell Ourselves About Hard Work
To achieve great things, you must not lie to yourself
We all like the idea of hard work.
It’s inspiring to imagine the goals we could accomplish. Like the movie sequence about an underdog who toughens up, works out, practices relentlessly, and then achieves something extraordinary.
The idea is nice.
But none of us like the doing.
That’s why we lie to ourselves about it. And learning not to lie to yourself is one of the most important parts of hard work.
Here are the five most common lies we tell.
“I’m naturally [talented / smart / athletic / etc]. I don’t need to work.”
This is the most pervasive lie.
Thinking that just because you have natural abilities, you don’t need to also work hard. This is incorrect.
Everyone who achieved great things, from athletes to engineers and everyone in between, needed both. And because you can’t change your natural ability, it especially important to control what you can.
And that’s the hard work.
