We often hear that working hard will beat talent. We know that working hard means our body and mind is occupied - which they both love. And work ethic is generally applauded and seen as a leadership quality in business.
But there's another, even bigger benefit to hard work
Imagine it's the weekend, you've been working all week. You may even had one of those weeks - dealing with long hours, stress and unpleasantness. You're sitting on the sofa blissfully doing and thinking about nothing, maybe having an uninterrupted afternoon coffee. You wonder, should I put on a movie, go for a run, have a nap?
Then your social media feed pings. Your friend is struggling with their home renovation. If you swipe past quickly enough, your conscience won't sting for very long. But it's too late. You've already seen it.
"No," you say to the cat, "I've had a long week. I need to recharge and do nothing." You then take the cat through the key talking points of the week, and, due to our negativity bias as humans, you focus squarely on the negative events. The cat walked away ten minutes ago. This is depressing, and so you put down the phone, pick up the remote control, and binge-watch nine episodes of Schitt's Creek. Don't worry, we've all been there.
Helping your friend with their awful, disorganised, amateur renovation sounds like hard work; it doesn't sound like it holds life-changing value. But your conscience is telling you to make a choice. So let's look at the benefits.
If you had stayed on the phone and responded to your friend, "I'll be there in 30 minutes," you may have gained an instant oxytocin boost. Your feelings of emotional warmth towards your friend would have resulted in the production of oxytocin. This does a few things including reducing blood pressure and making you feel happy. Listening to your heart is good for your heart.
Next you would have stood up off the couch, changing your physical position and your perspective. This would have interrupted the cycle of rumination that can lead to depression and anxiety. You may have broken out of a slight tendency towards self-pity and moved towards greater control in your life by exercising your choice to impact someone else positively. Now you're supporting your mental health.
When you got to your friend's house and received the task of nailing several hundred decking planks with a true old-fashioned hammer (no, not a nail gun), you may well have momentarily regretted your decision.
But then, after a few hard hours, as the deck grew from loose planks into a creation that you helped to build with your own hands, you start to feel satisfaction, you see the value in the work and you get the dopamine hit from a job well done.
Let's check out the balance sheet. Your hammering arm is tired. You nailed your shorts to the deck. You're sweating, hungry and thirsty. You did not get to watch nine episodes of Schitt's Creek.
But on the plus side, you're not ruminating about something you can't control, you've had a boost of happy hormones, you've been a true leader and a true friend, you will have bragging rights at BBQs for the next twenty years and you've had a free workout.
But I haven't yet told you the real life-changing value of hard work
It's creating memories! Hard work, acts of kindness, doing the hard yards, creates the most memorable experiences because we're engaging muscle memory. When we move physically through life and share experiences with others we create significant moments that stay with us. We lay down rich, vivid, shared memories that we would not have achieved otherwise. This wasn't a choice between me-time and aching muscles. This was a golden opportunity to grow, learn, enrich and expand your life. And don't forget, now your friend owes you a favour!
Self-awareness through gaining new perspectives is just one of the benefits leaders can experience when working with a mentor or coach with expertise in change management.
For more: www.agenciachange.com
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