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A lot of what I have written about sounds like hard work. Much of it is. However, that doesn’t mean that it will automatically be unpleasant. Hard work is oddly almost a cuss word in our society. Oh, we all consider “hard worker” to be a compliment, but when someone says that something will be hard work, that tends to set us up with the idea that the hard work will be grueling. I can think of two possible reasons for this: First, we live in a society that is increasingly focused on instant gratification. If it’s not available now, then what good is it? Secondly, most work in our society is drudgery: Doing something for the sake of doing it.
Facing the problem of instant gratification
Instant gratification is seductive, but doesn’t lead anywhere you really wish to go. Think about it: Anything that was truly worthy in your life has not been a case of instant gratification. Your loved ones, your accomplishments, your entire life as it is now has been developing over time. Just because something may take a while, that doesn’t mean that it is not as good as whatever can be done now. While the instant gratification mindset alone isn’t responsible for the world’s ills, it does cause problems in trying to create a better life. Say you have a meditation or exercise regimen but the video game console is sitting right next to you? How about if you are paying down your debts but suddenly you see the doodad that practically begs you to take it home? You see where I’m going here. Now, I happen to be fond of both video games and doodads myself, but when you invest your time and money in them, you get that brief spark of instant gratification, and then you realize that you have used up your resources. You are now short on time or money and you haven’t done what you truly wanted to do. Don’t feel bad, we’ve all been there. A great many of us still are. What may help is to ask yourself if what you are about to do will make you happy. This requires that you be monitoring your internal state, but if you’ve been reading this blog very long, you’ve probably picked that up anyway. Ask yourself: Will playing this video game make me happy? Will meditation make me happier? I’m not suggesting cutting out what you like to do and have. What I am saying is it’s important to remember that happiness comes from within. You may get enjoyment out of doodads and such, but don’t sacrifice your long term happiness for it.
Separating drudgery from hard work
When I talk about drudgery, I am talking about working for the sake of doing the task. Doing something that doesn’t have your heart. Most jobs fall into this category, which is an extreme misfortune. When you are running on a treadmill just to generate some dough, and have no other interest in the work, Bingo! Instant drudgery. It doesn’t really matter how difficult the task is. You could have George Jetson’s job (pushing a button once or twice a day) and it would be drudgery if your heart isn’t in it. Think back to when you wanted to surprise a loved one. You worked really hard to make every detail perfect. Did that hard work put you off? Of course not! You were working based in your love. When it comes to working on your inner techs, you can use this concept in two different ways: If your love of yourself is strong enough, you can use that. If you don’t feel it, then that’s something to work on 
But for now, if you feel your love of yourself isn’t where it should be, then you can use love of those close to you or even love of the world to inspire you. As I mentioned here I tried starting a blog before this one and it fizzled because my heart wasn’t in it. Posting would have been drudgery. When I realized that a large part of my purpose is to discuss and share knowledge on these topics, setting up and running a blog became a privilege. This blog is a labor of love for anyone who wants to take their lives to the next level. What do you love? What will make you go farther and work harder? Find that, and you find the key to hard work without drudgery.
