For years I'd hear high productivity experts say things like, "Work smarter, not harder," or "Efficiency is doing the thing right, while effectiveness is doing the right thing." They all sounded good to my ambitious ears and invariably I'd take a closer look at how I was approaching my career goals and wonder if I could be doing more.
Still, it would take years before I actually understood what it meant to work smarter. I enjoyed working hard and was strangely afraid of losing the identity of someone who gave his all to each worthy pursuit. I didn't particularly care if there was a better, more practical way of doing something. I just needed to sweat while doing it.
As I got older, I grew to appreciate two things: (1) there is no substitute for hard work. (2) working smart and working hard are a potent force when combined. The two should co-exist.
I learned however stubborn I was about my goals I still needed to be flexible in my thinking. If one method wasn't working, however diligent I was, I needed to reconsider how to storm the fortress walls. My target was still the same, but I now had enough self-awareness to realize there wasn't just one way to reach it.
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