The Outwork Myth
Day 338 / 365
“I may not be as lucky, but I can work twice at hard.” is a motto many workaholics live by. The idea is that no matter where you are in your career, you can always just use brute force and work your way to the top. I have been reading the book “it doesn’t have to be crazy at work”, which has a lot to say against this belief and even calls it “The Outwork Myth”
There’s always someone hungrier
We always feel like we are special, that we are the centre of the universe. But the truth is that, if you are willing enough to work hard on achieving something, there will be many others who are willing to work just as hard or even harder.
There are lots of things that go into someone’s success than just the number of hours that they have worked for. Being lucky, being at the right place at the right time, being talented, these are all important factors.
The trouble with the outwork myth is that it promotes an unhealthy work ethic. People think that putting in more hours is synonymous with being more successful and more productive.
Hours are never the differentiator — it’s never about working more hours than someone else. It’s about the decisions you make. How you spend your time, what you do and don’t do. Especially what you don’t do.