8 reasons working hard won’t make you successful

Published in

Multiplier Magazine

4 min readSep 25, 2017

“You get out what you put in, hard work pays off …” Sound familiar?

We work hard because we ‘strive for success’. And that’s awesome! But what issuccess? 50 years climbing the ladder to become Director? Working with every major brand or in ‘the big four’ accountancy firms? Loathe your job and spending all your energy at work, but earn enough that it’s ‘worth it’..?

How will you feel when you reach ‘success’? Will it actually achieve what you want? Do you even know what you want…?! And if you don’t know what success looks and feels like to you personally, how can you ever achieve it?

If we work hard but we’re disengaged, unfulfilled, and miserable then how can anything good come of it? Now, this isn’t my attempt to make you even more miserable than you already feel on a Monday morning. But your Monday blues alone is a sign that something’s not right….isn’t it?

So why doesn’t ‘hard work’, make you successful?

Quantity is irrelevant

Late night, early morning — rinse and repeat. ‘Putting the hours’ certainly shows dedication, but at what cost? If you’re exhausted and pi**ed off you’ll end up achieving very little of any worth. Have a look at these 8 tangible tips for how to actually work smart not hard.

Without purpose, nothing matters

If you don’t know or don’t wholeheartedly believe in your company’s goals, it’s hard to muster true enthusiasm. Your hard work just becomes a burden to bear. When you’re going through the motions, you’ll find little satisfaction, resulting in being thoroughly disengaged until…

… Resentment ruins us

“Why isn’t everyone else putting in the hours I am? I’m on my own here, no one else understands…What’s the point? Am I really making any difference..?” If we don’t truly believe in why we’re doing what we’re doing, it becomes a box-ticking exercise. If you’re a ‘Type A’ personality and a high achiever you probably put unrealistic pressure on yourself and fall into some of these happiness traps.

There’s nothing to be proud of

Working consistently long hours affects our ability to focus so, while we’re doing a lot, we’re not achieving much of any value. The quality of our work and our relationships suffer and we realise that we’re really not proud of anything we’ve done. It affects our confidence making us on edge, defensive and more susceptible to office politics

Burnout affects more than your work life

Your judgement suffers at work and in your personal life because you work too much and are too tired. You start to turn down social engagements because you’re putting in extra hours, every conversation is about what’s going on at work, and it’s hard to find joy in anything.

Our mental health suffers

Forcing yourself to work hard when you don’t enjoy it negatively impacts your mental health. Or to rephrase, when we enjoy life, we’re less stressed. We know that enjoyment and laughter lowers blood pressure (positively increasing your heart and pulse rate), reduces stress, and lowers your blood sugar levels as well, so it’s important to love what you do! Stress makes us irritable, snappy people both at home and at work, and far less tolerant of others. Is that who you want to be..?

The negative cycle sucks us in

Colleagues start to see us as ‘the one who’s always working’, expecting us to put in long hours and take on extra work. We develop destructive habits as long hours become our defining feature, rather than the quality work we know we’re capable of. We make up all sorts of reasons to stay in a toxic job that we don’t like, and we tell ourselves that we have no choice…

‘Success’ isn’t about impressing your boss

It’s a harsh reality, but we’re all replaceable. The anxiety and fear of being replaced can lead us down a scary path where we feel we have to put in longer and longer hours, hoping to be noticed, taking on extra work to show how keen you are, striving for that promotion… I’ve been there. I thought hard work and ‘being the best’ would make me happy, but it didn’t. It was only when I started working hard on the things that inspired me and that resonated with my purpose that I realised how infinitely more satisfying ‘work-life’ could be.

Finding your purpose and working with real focus achieves an awful lot more than working hard to be noticed.

Let go of working hard for the sake of ‘showing commitment’ or proving how ‘reliable and dedicated’ you are. Work instead for your own growth, learning and satisfaction.

Working hard is awesome if you know what you’re working for, and when you love it.

So, find the fuel for your own internal fire. Yes, we still need external recognition from our peers or bosses (otherwise you’ll take your great ideas and your strive to succeed elsewhere, or set up on your own!) but recognition needs to be the FUEL, not the sole reason you stay in a job.

And guess what? Loving what you do really shows on the outside.

Your joy and geek-ish fascination will radiate, provoking extraordinary reactions which captivate and attract others who feel the same way. Now that’s really something…