If hard work is not enough, then what is?
By now we know that hard work is not enough to achieve success. But it doesn’t mean, like many misinterpret, that you therefore don’t need to work hard. Rather, we need to know when to work hard, how to work smart and when to drop the struggle.
Whilst effort certainly matters, most high performers eventually bump into the same realisation: working harder doesn’t always get you further. In fact, it can sometimes be the very thing that gets in the way.
Here is a balance of three approaches to success that are common amongst some of the best in the world. And even more importantly, that are available to most of us.
1. Working hard works best in the preparation phase
Hard work has its place. Especially in the preparation phase which is about building foundations, mastering the basics, and building a reputation as someone who doesn’t cut corners. And those who do, fall out of the race first. Hard work takes discipline and commitment, but doesn’t require too much smarts in that it’s pretty easy to know what to do.
2. Working smart is smartest as the big moment nears
With the hard yards largely done and the foundations in place, the next level-up is to engage in smart work. This takes some amount of analysis, investigation and intuition – it requires brain-work. For example, it may involve understanding what the hardest workers are doing, and then figuring how to be more effective, more innovative, more strategic, and/or to find more flow than them. If you keep working too hard and mechanically grinding out those long hours, you run the risk of stress, burn-out, and decreased physical, mental and emotional capability.
3. Calm awareness wins the big moment
I recently watched a clip of Roger Federer who said it best when he spoke about the importance of staying calm in big moments. He said that when everything is on the line, “you want to become a master at dealing with hard moments.”
What Federer was describing isn’t a physical skill that is trained by hard work. It’s an inner skill. The ability to remain composed. To stay connected to the present moment, rather than being hijacked by emotion or panic. This kind of awareness is often the difference between average and exceptional performance.
The two big mistakes that occur in the big moment
When the pressure’s on, the two biggest mistakes I’ve watched play out are over-caution, and over-efforting. These are two quite different reactions to pressure, which are fairly predictable based on the athletes personality.
The more conservative, risk-averse, introverted, sentimental, over-thinking type of athletes tend to become over-cautious – and as a result they end up over-thinking, hesitating, playing-safe and worrying about making mistakes. Their competitive button becomes dialled down too low.
Conversely, more risk-taking, extroverted, future-oriented, excitable athletes tend to force, get ahead of themselves, over-effort, over-stretch as they rush towards victory. Their competitive button is dialled too high.
Through experience and practice, the most successful athletes like Federer don’t back down in the big moment, and they don’t try too hard either. They remain present, regardless of what happened before or what might happen next. They maintain a calm focus on what needs to be done in the present moment.
One of the most powerful factors that allows this calm, composed presence is TRUST. These performers can trust the hard work they put in, they trust the smart work and the ensuing strategy and game-plans, and they trust themselves. And because of this deep-seated trust, more often than not, they make better decisions and execute with more accuracy.
Final Thought
Hard work gets you into the room. Smart work gets others attention. Calm composed presence gets the prize – while others shy off or over-effort.
The shift from effort, to smarts, to awareness is one of the most important upgrades any athlete, leader, or professional can make.
