Work
Ethic

Success Requisite

Work is a toll that must be paid on the road to achievement.  Talent is not enough.  You actually have to do.

Well Earned Respect

Strong work ethic is one of the most admired character traits you can have.  Earn respect by the sweat of your brow.

For the work ethic weaklings:

Let’s start with the best advice up front.

Just get started.

Work ethic is like a muscle.

The more work you do, the stronger it becomes. 

Better still:

If you work hard for long enough, you might even come to enjoy it.

We often think of work ethic as an intrinsic trait.

In truth, it’s something you can develop.

Work Ethic Work Outs

Like most Character traits, you can improve your work ethic.

It’s similar to a muscle.  So you can exercise it.

The more use, the stronger it becomes.  Unfortunately, most people think of character like Personality.  Static.  Something you either have or don’t.  But this is false.

By exercising your work ethic, it becomes stronger.  In essence, the work itself is the work out.  The more work you put in, the better you become at putting work in.

For the lucky few, it gets implanted early in life.  As always, great Parenting is a cheat code.  Or, a great coach, teacher, or other mentor can get through to you in your formative years.  Some people even have responsibility thrust on them young due to poverty or family circumstances.  Such cases are one of those instances when your greatest challenges may become your greatest blessings (at least as far as work ethic is concerned), granted you take on the right perspective.

For the rest of us born into modern society, we have to cultivate work ethic ourselves.  Of course, there are still some shortcuts you can take.  For example, join the military or become a roughneck.  Such professions are all but guaranteed to drive the laziness right out of you.  Otherwise, developing elite work ethic is almost always a long uphill climb.  But as a human being, you were built for such journeys.

Like any virtue you want to develop, the beginning is the hardest.

More than likely, you’ll have to settle for marginal improvements at first.  But it’s just like hitting the gym.  The weight doesn’t get lighter; you get stronger.  When it comes to work ethic, the work is also training (which comes with the added benefit of Getting Things Done).

The more you work, the better you get at it.  Your ability to Focus increases.  Your endurance improves.  You become more resistant to Distraction.

You’re able to work harder, longer, and overall better.

Over time, you have to expend less Self Control and Willpower to make yourself work.  This frees up your brainwidth for other attributes the work demands, such Creativity, Attention to Detail, or Problem Solving.  As working hard becomes your natural state, not only do you get more done, the quality is enhanced.

That’s where the “fun” can begin.

Growing to Love the Work

We all enjoy doing things we are good at.

After a certain number of hours and level of skill, it’s hard not to love the work.

Obviously, it’s even easier when your vocation aligns with one of your passions.  Some are wise enough to craft their life this way intentionally.

Yet even for those who are not so fortunate, competence breeds comfort, then captivation, and ultimately compulsion.

Workaholics are often seen as “crazy” by those who haven’t developed “the itch” for their work.  But when you love what you do (or simply love the act of doing), it becomes a profound blessing.  For anyone with a fierce work ethic, idle days feel empty.

This drive goes beyond the intellectual or spiritual; it is deeply physiological.  In some ways, the internal mechanisms actually mirror a healthy addiction.  Both physical labor and creative pursuits trigger their own neural reward pathways.  In other words, your brain is structurally built for Deep Work.

Hard work creates a feeling of fulfillment it is difficult to get from anywhere else.  It’s not just about the loving the results.  It’s about the actual feeling of putting the work in.  So make hard work a Habit.  Your prize will be a rare level of personal pride.

Sure, some days will be fairly easy.  You’re allowed to be grateful for them.  However, it is often the greatest challenges that yield the most significant gains.  You’ll grow the most on those days that test your supposed limits.  Every time you push through, you expand.  Giving that little bit extra today makes it that little bit easier tomorrow.  Personal Growth is a natural benefit.  Be grateful for that as well.

Don’t seek ease outright.  Instead, seek the strength that makes the work easier.

After all, the world can never have too many strong, hard working people. 

The World Needs Your Work

Work ethic is one of the supreme personal ethics.

Industriousness builds civilization. 

The work you do matters—for yourself, for those around you, for those on the other side of the world, and for those who come after you.

In a world of eight billion people, it’s easy to feel small.  But that’s a matter of flawed perception.

It’s like the butterfly effect.  The ripples of your wings can create a hurricane of health and prosperity across time and space.  There are countless examples.  From Thomas Edison to Henry Ford.  From Plato to Gandhi.  We often think of such people in a way that borders on mythology.  We see them as larger-than-life visionaries who were always fated to change the world.

In truth, they were just regular people who worked on things they believed in.  We fail to consider the millions of nameless legends who made equal or even greater contributions to society.

Who invented the wheel?

Who harnessed fire for the first time?

Who planted the first garden?

We don’t know.

True, your accomplishments may never measure up to these monumental feats.  But you need not judge yourself on this scale anyway.  It’s neither practical nor useful.  Even if it were, you could never know the full extent of your impact.

As the Bible says:

“…each according to his own ability.”

 —Matthew 25:15

Working as a lineman, you might restore electricity for the scientist who unlocks the mysteries of nuclear fusion.

Writing as a poetic, you might inspire the philosopher who creates a revolutionary government system.

Working as a line cook, you might feed the botanist who solves world hunger.

The fact is, there were people supporting all of the legends, both famous and anonymous.  Thus, anyone making even the smallest positive impact deserves some credit.  We create this world together.  The ripples you create are unknowable, unfathomable.  So there is no use in trying to understand them.  Instead, just flap your wings young butterfly.  🦋

You don’t have to become a Hero for the work you do to matter.  Throughout history, people have made an inadvertent world-shaking impact while focused on solving problems for themselves or their families/closer to home.

Modern comforts mask this to a large degree.  Our problems are so small compared to days goes by.  Our institutions are so large and sophisticated that most of us can get by without doing much.  However, we build society together.  You can either be a contributor or leach.  This amazing world is made by the cumulative effort of billions all chipping in at once.  Pour in to the pot more than you syphon from it.

By reaching your potential, you help humanity reach its potential.

So train your work ethic muscle, no telling what burdens you may lift off the shoulders of humanity.

My Work Ethic Posts