How Hard You Work

I recently was talking to woman who was starting a new business. One day she sat down at a table with her business partner for hours and hours and they forced themselves to figure out many basics of their new company. They pushed past fatigue, hunger, and family needs to “make this happen.” Now they got some things done, but what they mostly ended up with was stress, a story, and some distance in their families. Since the reason they were starting the business was to have better family relations and more time, this was not a great way to start out.

I know a LOT of people like that, a lot of hard working people: mothers, people who work on farms, have ranches, run businesses, and build homes, among others. For the people I know, all of these careers involve lots of overtime, overwork, and rare breaks let alone vacations. I also come from a long line of people who work hard. So it really isn’t a surprise to me that for a lot of people the word “work” and “hard” just absolutely go together, and that both are considered constantly necessary for life to be “successful.”

Now I am not suggesting we all sit around and expect things to simply come to us. Work is needed in our lives, but let me suggest that there is another way to think of this word that will help you more and get you closer to your goals faster and lighter. Change the word “work” to “action” in your vocabulary and notice the difference in where the words take you. “Work” is a heavy word that usually means a lot of energy out, and not much in. “Action” on the other hand, is thought-out, planned, and lighter. Action is crucial - nothing was ever achieved without some kind of action - and we need to understand what action is appropriate, because often the action that will help something happen is not the one we traditionally think of, is not the “hard work” answer that pops into our minds.

Often if we take more time, time that is filled with intuitive action, we can come up with something of better quality that builds our selves and our relationships. For example: what if instead of pulling an all-nighter, those two people starting a business spent a few afternoons walking and talking aloud with each other and a few evenings meditating on open ended questions they needed guidance on? They would have gotten their information while building themselves and their relationships up, instead of tearing them down.

Action like this may seem “too easy” for those of us who think in terms of constant hard work, but it moves you toward the answer in a way that is harmonious with what you love and is crucial. This is exactly how we use and trust our inner guidance system, our factory installed GPS, our intuition talk to us and guide our lives. This is how we listen. Giving space and allowing time for intuition is as much of an action -and often a far more productive, higher quality, and faster action – than the dramatic and exhausting work we often find ourselves doing.

Remember, my friends, that action is important to achieve your goals, but often it is less “work” than you imagine it to be.

Much love,
Laura