Show notes
Today's topic is an interesting one and I want to talk about it just to inspire some thought around how we talk about hard work. It's more just a phrase or topic of conversation that is thrown around, but I don't think many people even realize they are saying it.
The phrase is "it's a lot of work."
This phrase is haphazardly thrown around in our regular conversations, so much so that I'm not even sure we realize we are doing it. The fact is that saying something is a lot of work is often used as a negative caveat. If you're talking about a good experience to someone and then throw in, "but it's a lot of work," the person you're talking to might feel discouraged or might not even want to try what you are doing. "It's a lot of work" is also an excuse people use to create a barrier to getting started.
Here are some examples I've heard recently about the phrase "it's a lot of work" either being used as an excuse or just in regular conversation that can inadvertently come across as negative.
"Cooking a plant-based meal? Or even cooking a meal at home? It's a lot of work."
"I'd love to get a dog, but they are a lot of work."
"Babies are a lot of work, but they are fun too."
"Training for a mountain bike race sounds like too much work."
"Starting a side project would be cool, but it would also be a lot of work."
and here's one I'm guilty of saying we people ask me about podcasting
"I love podcasting, but it's a lot more work than you'd think!"
I'm not saying it's bad to tell someone that a task is a lot of work, but I think it's important to be aware the context. Also, why do we feel the need to emphasize that something is a lot work? Most of the time, we have the best intentions. We want someone to know that if they want to take on a new commitment, we want to prepare them by letting them know there will be some time and effort involved. Most of the time, we are not trying to discourage someone but it can inadvertently come off that way- or worse, you can sound like you are complaining. Saying something is great but then adding "but it's a lot of work" can take away from how great it sounds.
And when we use "it's a lot of work" as an excuse to avoid getting started- well that's a whole other story.
My comment is: why is something being hard work a bad thing? Why are we so afraid of the idea hard work?
I've broken it down into a few sections. The first is one I'll lightly touch on, but won't go in-depth because the topic is very broad and is even something we've spent hours talking about on the show with guests: topics like the brain's quest for dopamine, building good habits, setting goals, sticking to commitments. There are tons of articles on why we are lazy, how not to be lazy, etc. I'm not going to go into laziness.
First, let's have a mindset shift around "hard work"
Matt and I were talking about this topic as I was writing this post. I was telling him that I actually enjoy working hard. I don't mind investing my time and energy into things. An example: when we decided to get a puppy last year, everyone told us that getting a dog was going to be a ton of work. It doesn't feel like work to me, it just feels like a fun addition to my life that takes attention I want to give. When I start and commit to projects or to races, I know I'll have to put in a lot of work and effort, but that excites me.
My question is what else would you rather be doing with your time rather than committing it to "working hard" for something you care about? The idea of endlessly relaxing may sound good, but in truth, I would find that horribly boring and unsatisfying. I want to spend my time doing things that make me think, take my attention, and really challenge me. Something being a lot of work is
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