What does "working hard" mean to you?
 

I have this idea, a former dream that now needs to happen, and what rings in my head is that old phrase "word hard and you will succeed".

What does that mean, exactly? Push myself to the point of fatigue? Exclude everyone else from my life to sew dolls and crib sheets for others? Avoid watching "Project Runway" and traveling Pinterest? Maybe.

So naturally, I Googled "what does it mean to work hard" and came up with a summary that appeals to me:
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/cmho...n-to-work-hard

Like anything else, you have to define your own personal terms of success. I made a list of what I have accomplished in my life and it's pretty impressive, I think. I am successful in my world and that matters to me, and by reading those things, I know I can succeed in this business venture, if I only discipline myself to work on it when it makes sense in my life to do so.

So my question is: how do you define "working hard". What does that mean to you? Are you proud of yourself and your life even though it may not be what you envisioned years ago?

I'm looking for further perspectives on this because like the author of the above piece, I think we need to have a different outlook so we don't perceive ourselves as "less than" someone who appears to have more than we do. Our value and internal worth should be defined by us alone. Maybe you're already good with it and that's great, but I find I continually push myself to be a better me, in terms of achievement, whether it's to master frying shrimp (I swear, I'll always overcook it, maybe I should try baking it instead) or one of those pineapple quilts.

Even though I do not consider myself successful in a career sense, I feel I have been very successful in my life. Despite ourselves, my husband and I raised 2 daughters to become wonderful, caring, compassionate, giving women. I am so proud of them. I feel raising them to become the women they have become makes me very successful.

That's exactly what I mean. Success isn't necessarily measured by dollars.

I am self-employed, and to me working hard means getting done all the things I know in my heart need to get done to stay on top of things. That doesn't mean working around the clock or giving up all pleasures, and it doesn't mean letting things slide because there is no one to get on me about it. When I am working hard, things are under control.

My take on "working hard" is to put in extra effort for those things that are important to me...it may make me sweat, I might feel pain if it's physical work, it may mean taking time away from something less important...but it always involves making the decision that what I'm doing is important enough to go the extra mile. working hard can happen in raising kids, cleaning house, quilting, or attending school. But...working hard is not the only part of the equation,,..working smart is just as, if not more, important than working hard. I need to assess what my goal is and determine the best way to get there and not just work hard, If I work hard but I"m not on center for my goal, I'm not working smart and my results will be less than what I want.

The opposite of "hardly working"

Couldn't have said this better myself, ktbb.
It also means educating yourself about your project. And working smart also means taking time to refresh oneself, whether with sleep, a workout, a vacation, down time with a different project - even a book.
Jan in VA

My dad used to ask us if we "worked hard today?" What that meant to us, and what he taught us was that doing your absolute best was hard work. If you did everything in your power, tried your best, kept your focus, made no excuses, and learned from your mistakes, you were "working hard". He set the expectation bar high, and never made it seem like anything was out of reach or unattainable.

Working Hard? I am retired. I Play Hard. Doing things that give me pleasure with an occasional obligation thrown in to keep me balanced.

Working smart saves you from having to work hard.

To me it means keep on plugging away day by day and you will succeed even though it may seem impossible at first. There are many temptations to take the easy way but I've found the easy way never lasts and you end up having to start over. If you let excuses rule your life you will never accomplish anything. There may be a few reasons that will hinder but excuses are the easy way out.

I believe "working hard" means "giving your best". I worked for 45 years as a secretary. I always showed up for work on time, didn't leave early, didn't spend hours each day on the phone with friends or family. I always dressed to the best of my ability even for the years that I sat in an office by myself most of the day. And I did it while raising my two sons alone. They have both turned out to be wonderful young men that are constantly being praised by their bosses for their work ethic. Granted I could have spent all those years going back to school or doing things I wanted to do, but my most rewarding "job" was raising two wonderful sons.

I think that working hard is recognizing what needs to be done to accomplish a goal. You can go through a day and "do stuff" but the things that have an ultimate purpose behind them seem to take on more importance and a greater priority. I worked full time while raising my girls and did a few hobbies when I could work them in. I moved up through one company over 25 years and feel I worked hard for them but my family has more importance to me than what I achieved at that company. The girls both did very well in school and have families of their own now. They have both developed hobbies and talents of their own and they both have a strong work ethic. The "working hard" thing to me is plowing through to accomplish something and it doesn't have to have one whit to do with money.

I think if I'm not exhausted, I'm not working hard enough. But when I list the things I did in a day to my husband, he'll remark about how hard I worked! Guess its perspective!