I always bristled at the saying from the 90s, “Work smarter, not harder.” It felt judgmental to me – so you are telling me that I am wrong for working hard? And, in the same breath, you imply that I must get the job done, or else?

Let’s add up this mixed message: If I A) fail to get the job done and B) work hard instead of smart… then I must be dumb, right? Gee, not very inspiring.

In a culture that lauds hard work as a badge of honor, this “smarter, not harder” sound bite feels misplaced and disrespectful of generations of hard-working people who have understood that true freedom meant creating one’s own success – not waiting to have it handed to them. Thus, the whole “bootstrap” approach that has inspired innovation, progress and independence on so many levels.

Now, clearly, this honorable work ethic has been taken to an extreme in plenty of cases. Burnout, stress, fatigue, misery – folks working their fingers to the bone, sacrificing physical and mental well being, family closeness, and simply, the joy of life…  all work, no play make Jack & Jill not just dull, but sick and lifeless. And not even the best producers!

If we are to shift our work culture, we need to take a good look at our attitudes toward hard work. First – who gets to decide to what degree work is “hard?” And which category resonates for you: is hard work an awful trap or a badge of honor?

Okay, that was a trick question. Because, for me, it is neither the trap or the badge. Let me introduce a different concept about work.

The fact is, “work” is neither hard nor easy. It’s a neutral thing. It is simply that, for certain results and in certain conditions, we need to exert more energy than at other times. What takes great effort for one person may be a cakewalk to another. A job may be harder or easier based on your education, experience, personality traits, available resources, physical ability, management support, family support, energy levels, attitude and any number of factors.

For me, the more important place to look is: what is your heart saying about the particular work you are up to? Is your heart: Engaged? Delighted? Uplifted? Enthused?

What I’ve noticed is that when we are lead by our hearts (passion, fun, delight, values-centered, relationship-oriented), hard work is a joy, it’s radically fulfilling. Haven’t you experienced this phenomenon at least a few times in your life?

When I was a teenager, a friend and I agreed to do some yard work for an older woman from our church. We went every day after school for a week and even spent one full day – pruning and weeding and cutting through the thickest overgrowth you ever saw. But it was a joyful kind of hard work – we were having a blast! We were working together, we were out in the sun, we were beautifying this unruly yard and we were deeply appreciated by the woman who hired us.

And there are plenty of times when I am working on my business and truly in a heart-led space and having a terrific time! Who cares if I’m  working late into the night, just grinding away until I have to force myself to stop? This, indeed, is truly joyful work. Sure, I’m exerting a lot of energy and effort, I may be grappling with a difficult challenge or I may be lost in creativity – and it is fun, fun, fun!

(In these times, I do have to be mindful of getting carried away and neglecting my other needs – rest, good nutrition, exercise, social interaction, spiritual connection, time in nature. I’ll cover that in another post!)

But where the trouble comes in is when I am working hard with no heart involvement. Gross, yuck, ball and chain… I’m doing something that bores me or simply doesn’t engage my passion and creativity. Or keeps me isolated. Without my heart’s involvement, I may get the work done, but I find myself resenting everything from the work itself, to the client, to my chair, to the neighbor kids playing outside, to the beautiful blue sky… I cannot keep that kind of work up for long.

So I prefer to reframe that old “work smarter, not harder” mantra to a new, inspired, heart-centered, and much more sustainable and life-giving one: 

Work Hearter, Not Smarter.

Care to join me in this revolution?