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Question for self: What is "hard work"?

12/7/2015

We are in the homestretch of 2015, which means it's time for too many cookies and a nice does of year-end self reflection, right?

Well, do I have a nugget for you below.

And if you're a personal growth nerd like me, you may be intrigued by the Life Lab on 12/16, where we'll be stopping to harvest all the valuable experience and insight you gained this year, so you can build your 2016 upon it.

Ok, on to some self inquiry.

Lately I've been asking myself ...

When I study the things that really shift me forward in my life, they often come in moments, choices, or acts of bravery. They may not have any tie to how much I'm working. So if these are the deeds that get me where I want to go, I've realized it's time to update the definition of "hard work" that I measure myself by, so it's not just how many hours I clock or how much I can produce.

Read more to this question below.

Come Join Me:

Rather than rushing into the new year to start all over, let's take a look back at 2015 and harvest or biggest lessons and insights to carry forward into the new year.
Check it out and share with a friend!

Grab a spot

The heart of the question:

Over the past month, I had a realization that "hard work" isn't what I always thought it was. The definition I inherited from our culture was all about hours per week, feeling like I was 'pounding it out,' and getting to results as efficiently as possible. It related to how much I could do.

While that is the case at times, this definition misses out on influential levers that I've had to learn how to do in order to be creative, to take smart risks, to understand who I am and follow my own intuition to where I want to go.

When I stopped to take a look at the hard things I've done to get me to those places, they are things like ...

being intentional, slowing down, and making mindful choices despite the the pace of everything else is racing
having the courage to stick with a big change when solid ground feels so much more tempting
trusting myself and my own vision for my life, even when outside pressures or voices are giving me the impression I'm crazy
finding the strength to share the work that is closest to my heart without knowing how it will land first

These are the things that truly stretch me and require a lot of effort to pull off. Yet they also move me toward what I want most in my life - starting a company, living by own standards, experiencing more of life.

The ability to discern the difference between what hard work means to me, and the definition I have inherited (aka. how I subconsciously measure myself) is crucial. I have a bad habit of distracting myself from the kind of hard work above by filling up my schedule with things that seem like hard work in everyone else's standards. But in reality I'm putting off the meaningful work I need to do to get where I want to go.

So why does this matter?

When we change how we define 'hard work' we shift what we focus on and prioritize. We give ourselves permission to make time for what matters and measure ourselves by it ... and celebrate when we do.

So how do you define hard work? Is it something you had inherited .. or have you created your own definition?

Today pay attention to standards you actually hold yourself to, and ask if they are still valid for you. Then notice the things that do stretch you and catapult you toward the results you're after.

Write these into your own definition of hard work. Now, if you held yourself to this standard of working hard, what might be possible?

Something to inspire you along the way:

There is no one more eloquent than Seth Godin when it comes to reaching inside to define our unique pathway toward creating meaningful work in the world. I found deep inspiration in this book as I was developing the creative resilience to launch my course, Plugged In, last year. Use this as fuel for any 'hard work' you need to tackle in the coming year.

I hope you have the most joyful of holiday seasons. In the midst of celebrating, please make time to give yourself credit for all that you have created and learned in 2015, and take that wisdom forward with you.

With love & gratitude,

Forward

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The "Transitions" time of year

Question for self: What is "hard work"?

Lately I've been asking myself ...

Come Join Me:

The heart of the question:

So why does this matter?

Something to inspire you along the way:

Allie Armitage

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