For a while now, I had come to the conclusion that hard work is sometimes not rewarded, and that hard work only increases your probability of a desirable outcome. Now I have a different perspective of hard work. Today is a Sunday, and the sermon in Church was essentially about reaping what you sow. Using Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart", as the bases of this sermon, it reminds us that God will always give a good harvest to us. It may not happen in the way I expect it, or may not come in the package I envision, but it will come. Therefore, I have concluded that hard work will give you what you desire, but may not do so in the time you desire, thus it is imperative that you practice patience.
Using the gym as an analogy (as I always do), think of how deadlifts felt. In my first year of lifting, my form deadlifting (and the amount of weight I was doing) were poor, resulting in me being injured constantly. Due to this my progress was stalled. Did I give up on deadlifting saying "My hard work is not being rewarded, so I will stop ?" No. I continued to deadlift, learning the form through the internet and my own practice. I have practice many ways of gripping the bar, improved my bracing and thought consciously about what muscles I use to lift. Now I feel like I am making a lot of progress on deadlifting. 160kg is flying off the ground with hook grip and I feel like I could potentially rep out 200kg soon.
To conclude, when working hard, instead of questioning how you are using your time and thinking about the opportunity cost, try to be like a scientist, experiment with different techniques and methods, and soon enough you will find success.
And said success will feel many times better than the disutility of the effort that you put in.
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