Hard Work Will Not Fix Your Problems!

There is a broadly held societal truism that in order to get what you want in life, you just need to work hard. And if it isn't coming to you, you just need to work harder.

In some ways, you could argue that grind culture has been born out of this belief.

As a sort of "side quest" to this, there's a whole school of thought that suggests we need to work smarter instead harder, and that will ultimately lead to us getting what we want in life.

Of course the "hidden" bit of truth in that whole equation is that people rarely take the time to do a genuine deep dive on the core question of what you want in life. That is to say, we often end up chasing goals that are not only set by others, but typically are designed to benefit others, more than they benefit us.

What is it you really believe will make you happy? Or need to have so that feels like a good life, in the center of your being?

In conversations that don't scratch beyond the surface layers, the discussion often hones in on getting the fancy cars and the laxury house and going on exotic holidays... and while these may give us a momentary sense of accomplishment, they typically just provide a momentary dopamine high after which we determine that we really need more than what we already have.

What often gets lost is understanding the difference between daily mood and overall life satisfaction.

Working harder — even if you end up having more money — will typically not improve your overall life satisfaction by much if you're feeling grumpy and dissatisfied with the drudgery of the work you have to do to get it, particularly if you spend so much time "earning more" that you end up with no time left over to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

One of the things we often forget is that unless we have our mental game sorted, endless "harder" work isn't going to bring us much closer to life satisfaction.

Someone once argued with me that "it's better to sit in a new luxury car crying, than in an old wreck that barely drives!" My response remains the same as it has always been: "WHY are you sitting in a car — any car — crying?"

I often look back on my years as a teenager — living among the extremely wealthy — and it was painfully obvious that the incidence of depression, alcoholism, drug misuse, criminal misconduct and even taking one's own life was no different among the very rich as compared to anyone else. The only "difference" was that the 18-year olds caught shoplifting did it because they were bored while the less affluent did it out of necessity/desperation. Point being that shoplifting is still shoplifting.

The truth of "working smarter" only comes to bear in the sense that we must pause and learn to be wise about what we are doing with our lives, before we set ourselves endless material goals.

Because simply having "the things" alone isn't going to fix anything for you.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Friday!

How about YOU? Do you believe in hard work? Do you fully understand WHY you are working so hard, and towards what end goal? Is it a goal that will make you authentically happy? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2026.08.13 19:08PDT
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