I recently purchased a copy of Robert Cheeke’s book, Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness. The essay below comes from the book.
I have to say that this is one of the most inspiring essays I have read in a long time. It really made me think. We are so fortunate to live where we do and have the opportunities we have, yet so many people complain about how hard we work…but do we?
Increase Your Work Ethic to Create Your Own Results
By Robert Cheeke
June 23, 2009
I believe the term “hard work” gets thrown around way too loosely and way too carelessly in our society. Every day people walk around describing “hard work” as if they actually think they have some sort of comprehension of what that means. Every day people think that working 40 hours a week is “hard” and that creating time in their schedule to peel themselves away from the television or their TV dinner to exercise is “hard work.” The truth is, most people in our culture have no idea what it means to work hard or to believe in something so much that they’ll dedicate their life to it and do what it takes to accomplish it. Most people don’t truly commit to something that is exceptional or outstanding and work excruciatingly hard at it every day. Most people simply don’t have it in them. You can blame it on society; you can blame it on culture; you can blame it on lifestyle and conveniences or traditions; but I choose to blame it on the individual. Average people don’t work hard unless they are forced to by necessity. It takes effort, work, and time, and most people are not interested in investing any of those things as long as they have their 40-hour per week jobs, television programs, fast food, and partner or family to share this time with. Average people don’t want to change anymore than they have to because they’ve put in their eight hours for the day and they’re ready to kick back, rest their feet, and relax. Sure, people still complain that they don’t have enough money to pay bills, improve healthcare, support their children better, enhance their lifestyles, and bring more fulfillment to their lives; but they’re not willing to work hard to change. It’s just too much to ask. Average people would rather become obese or get sick before they’d ever think about starting an exercise program, following a sound nutrition program, or applying themselves more in areas such as work or relationships.
What makes me any different? The only thing that makes me any different than anyone else in this society when it comes to hard work is the fact that I am aware of how lazy we are and I’ve chosen to do something about it. That’s it. That’s the only thing that separates me and other hard-working people from those who don’t work hard in our society. We simply took the time to acknowledge it and conclude that being lazy isn’t the right thing to do, that there is so much more to life than just getting by. We realized that the world is a wonderful place with endless opportunities to succeed and to contribute in monumental ways, and we realized that the road to success is paved in hard work day in and day out in all aspects of life. We also came to the realization that hard work doesn’t mean boring or unfulfilling work. Some of the greatest times of my life resulted from working harder than anyone else and putting in 15-hour days doing truly meaningful things in my life. We’re also fully aware that there are plenty of people in all parts of the world who work way harder than we do and don’t have the privileges we have, the opportunities we have, the tools and resources that we have, or the support that we have. Billions work from dawn to dusk to simply survive; others seem to not even try; others work hard to thrive. Where do you fall among these groups?
The first step in embracing a new work ethic is to let go of ego and accept the fact that you really don’t work very hard. When I came to the conclusion that I was lazy, selfish, had poor time management, made bad decisions, and didn’t care very much about what I was doing, I realized I was just like everyone else and I needed to make a change immediately. I made a change and became successful immediately, found immediate meaning in the hard work I was doing, and found it to be enjoyable, fulfilling, and rewarding. Most of us just aren’t willing to work any harder than we are now. If we can change our way of thinking to understand how to work hard and understand why it is important to work hard, we can do incredible things with our lives and that is what life should be about.
Here are some tips to improve your work ethic:
-Get rid of your television. It distracts you from doing productive and meaningful things in your life and eats up an incredible amount of time.
-Determine what you love to do the most and spend more time doing it.
-Find true meaning in your life and pursue it with passion.
-Reduce the time you spend on the Internet.
-Observe the work ethic of the people who are the most successful in any given industry.
-Observe the work ethic of those who rely on their work ethic to survive.
-Learn how to manage your time effectively and efficiently.
-Set specific work ethic goals.
-Understand how investment of effort leads directly to the attainment of goals.
-Really believe in what it is you are doing. Belief will automatically improve motivation and work ethic.
For more information about Robert Cheeke and to visit the website he created click here.