Be Hard-working. The habit of hard work benefits you and others. It is the price everyone must pay for success and joy.
I’ve noticed in my own life and in the lives of my children, we really are happier when we have something meaningful we are working on or for. Developing skills, improving, serving, and accomplishing meaningful objectives.
There are some notable famous individuals who are known for their hard work. A name that comes to mind is Michael Jordan.
There was an article in Inc titled: “4 Stories About Work Ethic That Will Make You Work Harder,” By AJ Agrawal. https://www.inc.com/aj-agrawal/4-stories-about-work-ethic-that-will-make-you-work-harderer.html
Michael Jordan was known for practicing ridiculous hours everyday. Eventually this started to rub off on his teammates, making the Bulls one of the best NBA teams in history when Jordan was the leader. Before regular practice started, Jordan would practice at his house. Overtime, Scottie Pippen decided to join him. Pretty soon, most of the team followed suit. Through sheer work ethic and determination, Jordan recruited his entire team to work harder. The accomplishments of that team speak for itself.
It is helpful to:
- Identify what you ultimately want from the work, and focus on your desired end result.
Speaking of Michael Jordan, when he was a sophomore in high school, he tried out for the varsity basketball team and was cut. He was upset by getting cut, but decided to work harder to make the team the next year. According to an article in Newsweek,
“He picked himself up and turned the cut into motivation. “Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I’d close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it,” Jordan would explain. “That usually got me going again.”
https://www.newsweek.com/missing-cut-382954
- Practice a positive attitude.
Like the quote in the planner by Colleen C. Barrett says: “Work can either be fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.”
- Work with others to strengthen relationships and make work fun.
Working along side your children provides great teaching moments and can be very bonding.
- Develop the reputation of being reliable, doing more than expected, and doing quality work.
- Develop the habit of completing what you start.
- Don’t take on too much.
It is better to be up front and say “no” to a request when you have too much on your plate than to say you will do something, but not follow through. You also need a proper balance, and to be able to focus on what is most important to you
- Remember to balance work with play or rewards.
As a family, we occasionally have work hard, play hard days. projects, or a lot of work to get done on the weekends, so we would often have a work hard, play hard day. We get up fairly early and work really hard as a family to get some projects done, then we go do a something fun as a family. Maybe dinner and a movie, or some other activity.
As you strengthen your habit of hard work, watch and notice as your confidence and skills increase and how your example and attitude positively influence others.
This month I challenge you to pick an area of your life where you can pick it up a bit and work harder. Maybe there is a particular skill you want to master, or a goal you want to achieve. Pull out your planner and set up some regular routines that will take you closer to your goal, and write down some monthly milestones to measure your progress.