Don’t Work so Hard

Not working so hard means not thinking so much. Overthinking is hard work. These mind-chatter thoughts then turn to waste-of-time actions that get you nowhere. This is most people’s lives: spending much of the day going round and round in mind chatter trying to work out how to get somewhere else; how to be better, how to get more money etc – and then trying to think up actions in order to accomplish and ‘make it happen’. Much of the contemporary personal development world is like this too – replacing ‘making it happen’ with ‘manifesting’. It can be exhausting – and it’s not effective.

In the media, successful people are often asked to share the secret of their success. One answer that comes up a lot is ‘hard work’. When I used to hear this, it never felt accurate to me, seeming like an apology or justification for receiving all that abundance. Working hard implies doing something really difficult that you don’t want to do – if it was so unpleasant why didn’t those people retire with all their millions? And yet when asked about retirement, most would say they would never retire because they love what they do. I’d also wonder about all the people that worked very hard in several jobs but didn’t find wealth or success and how that fit with the answer.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting laziness (which is another form of overthinking). All the successful people I know are busy; there’s a lot of movement happening. I don’t know many people who just read the latest manifesting book and sit back on the sofa whilst the millions come in. Doing nothing is boring – and opens the door to tedious overthinking rather than those successful ideas that spark successful results.

When instead we begin with the inner work – sweeping clear those unproductive thoughts – we know what to do and those million dollar ideas come to us. We are moved to right action – rather than thinking our way to solutions.

Disciplined Practice

And so yes – work is necessary – the work of getting out of your own way; of clearing your mind, being with the thoughts and feelings rather than trying to change or control them, so you are free to be you. And then filling that space with action.

A disciplined morning practice is important – we want to make the effort to follow through with our commitment to doing the practices that free us, first taking the time to settle the mind. These practices can be as important as turning your car around before you set off. If you don’t take time to centre yourself it’s like setting off into your day driving North when you want to be going South – a long detour, in other words. If you’d just taken that time and effort to set the direction with your practices you’d save so much time and effort. 

When our minds are clearer – without the friction of overthinking – we get the ideas. We know what to do. The work we do works. And as we turn those ideas to action it feels energising in the process, like passion, like excitement – like being you. And not like hard work at all.

Feel Better, No Matter What – A 4-Week Course to Love the Life You Have Right Now (Watkins Publishing) is Out Now