“Work hard,
and you will earn good rewards.
Work smart,
and you will earn great rewards.
Work hard and work smart,
and you will earn extraordinary rewards.”
Matshona Dhliwayo
Beyond the Quote (Day 398)
I remember learning this lesson in college when, after giving a big presentation, I found out a classmate of mine—who did far less work than me—got a better grade than me. I vaguely remember the details of the project, but the feelings are as fresh as they were 10 years ago. I was heated. I felt cheated. I kept replaying the thought that I did 10x the work and ending up with nothing to show for it. And I didn’t want to just let all of my hard work go to waste—I wanted to prove that those hours counted for something!
But, that’s just it. They didn’t. What counts in a presentation is the presentation itself. And that’s exactly what my professor told me. It doesn’t matter how many hours are spent getting ready for something, what matters is what results when it’s time. It’s not the studying that counts; it’s the information that’s retained. It’s not the ambitions that makes the difference; it’s the actions steps that are taken. If students could tally up the number of hours they spent in preparation and could turn it in for some kind of bonus grade, imagine what kind of mental health/ lack of sleep nightmare we would find ourselves in!
Sadly enough, I’m not so sure it would look much different than the current state of affairs that most students (people) already find themselves in. Far too many confuse quantity with quality. They invest too heavily into sheer work volume and not enough into deeply understanding the work. They optimize the number of hours they can spend rather than optimizing how the hours could be spent better. They focus on chopping the tree rather than on sharpening the axe. See, it’s not that hard work doesn’t pay off, it’s just that smart work pays off more.
Read Next: 25 Work Ethic Quotes to Re-Ignite (or Reinforce) The FIRE In Your Belly!
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Written by Matt Hogan
Founder of MoveMe Quotes. On a mission to help busy people do inner work—for better mental health; for healing; for personal growth. Find me on Twitter / IG / Medium. I also share daily insights here. 🌱
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