Have you ever been told that you should work smart instead of working so hard? I have been told this MANY times. I have never been the type to sit still. It is just not in my nature. My mind is always moving and it seems natural for my body to want to go with it. At times in the past, I have been criticized for my tendency to stay active. It tends to make more sedate souls a little nervous. I have been told I need to slow down or I will wear out. The favorite phrase of one of my co-workers was "Young people work hard but when you get older and wiser, you learn to work smart instead." He seemed to believe that by virtue of our age, we deserved the right to sit back and take it easy.
Now, I will agree that there is virtue to taking some time for quiet contemplation. However, I think there is fallacy in the notion of "working smart". I do not necessarily agree that taking the easiest path is always the best. No matter how old you get, there is a lot of virtue in good hard work. So I decide to write today in defense of the more difficult path.
We live in an age of mass marketing. We are bombarded by advertisements on TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, billboards and the internet. It is what keeps our capitalistic system running. All of the ads state that if we just buy the product or service, our lives will be enhanced, our problems will be solved. In other words, the ads are selling quick and easy solutions. In this crazy, hectic world in which we live, anything to make our lives easier is tempting. So we get out our credit card and spend the money - easy so far. But often the product or service does not really make that big a difference in our lives. Often it is just one more thing to tend. Then we get the credit card bill and have to work overtime to pay it. Our life then gets just a bit more crazy and hectic.
The main fallacy in this way of life is the simple fact that you cannot BUY quality of life and you cannot buy peace of mind. Also, in spite of many advertisements to the contrary, you cannot buy health. All the things that we are really looking for in our culture are not bought and sold on EBay. They are fostered by a correct lifestyle and obtained (heaven forbid) through good, old fashioned hard work.
Let me give you an example from my own life. Once upon a time, many many years ago, I was a newly divorced mom. I was trying to raise my children on my own while starting a practice as a Nurse Practitioner. I had moved back to a place with a small yard to tend and no husband to tend it.I thought it would be good exercise to mow the yard myself. So I bought a little reel push mower. If you do not know what I am talking about, yes, that is a picture of one at the top of this article. This is the kind of mower that uses sweat power instead of gasoline. They are not used much anymore. In fact, it took me a while to find a clip art for it. I googled push mower clip art and all I got was the gasoline kind. I loved my reel mower. It worked great, was very quiet and since I am not mechanically inclined, I was happy it had no motor!
I took a lot of ribbing about my mower, though. Some of the comments were good-natured and some were sort of mean. One of my cousins, in particular, came by when I was mowing, looked at me disgustedly and said, "You know, with a yard that small, you could probably get someone to mow it for $10. Are you really that cheap?". I smiled weakly and never let her know that her words really hurt. I had never even thought about being cheap. I just thought about the fresh air, good exercise, and the lovely smell and feel of the clean fresh cut grass under my feet.
I am sure my cousin never mowed her own yard. She was too busy. She probably paid someone and paid more than $10.00. Her yard was a lot bigger than mine. I know she also paid a pretty good amount to belong to one of the local gyms. I got my excercise for free mowing and raking my yard. At that time I was working as an RN for $19.00 an hour at the local hospital to pay my bills while trying to get my private practice going. I probably would have had to work an extra hour (after taxes) away from my home and family to pay for some one to do my yard. Instead, my son and I would work together in the yard for an hour a week. He was my number one stick and rock remover. It may not sound like quality mother/son time but we had some great conversations during that yard work. So, though my cousin may disagree, I feel I was really the winner in this situation. I chose the "hard"; way but in the process, got fresh air, excercise, time with my son and more money in my pocket. What a deal!
I contend that we have confused lack of time and a hectic pace with working "too hard". Actually, on a whole, we, Americans, work too easy. That is why there is an obesity epidemic in the United States. We wake up in the morning, drive to work, toil away in our sedentary jobs all day, then sit in our cars fighting rush hour traffic and come home too exhausted to cook. So we order a pizza and eat it in front of the TV. Then we go to sleep and start all over again the next day. Since the job and commute take up a significant portion of our time, and since we make good money, we feel justified in paying someone to do our odd jobs, buying a fast food meal on the way to work or buying some cool new gadget to make life easier in the house. Then because we are doing even less around the house, we gain some weight. So we take a membership at a gym or by a bunch of diet products that we never use. All of this costs money for which we have to work even more...and the gerbil wheel continues.
Come on, Gang! Time to switch tactics! We need to take a look at our lives and find some ways to make it harder, but better. Walk to the bus stop and take the bus instead of driving to work. I did it in Honolulu when I lived there and it was lovely. The walk gave me a good cardio work-out and the bus ride gave me time to read my paper every day. Instead of sitting in front of the TV eating pizza, make dinner with your family. You save money, eat healthier and make quality memories your kids will cherish. Do your own yard work or house work. That is another good workout with no gym membership required. I challenge you to look around you and find something that you are NOT doing now but should be. Be smart! Work harder. It will enhance your life and your health.
