Do you have an amazing work ethic?

[bodhiavttas]

For people who have an amazing work ethic:

When did you learn to be hard-working and how do you keep it up nowadays? Were you taught that working hard will result in success at an early age? Did you become a hard-worker on your own?

Please share your experiences.

[tc33]

I don't know if I'd call my work ethic "amazing", but thinking about it I haven't met too many people that are willing to outwork me. (not trying to be arrogant here)

I believe my work ethic was instilled at an early age (12) when my witch mother (not that I'm bitter or anything ) decided that I was going to deliver two routes of the daily newspaper in sunny Buffalo, NY, whether I wanted to or not, with the proceeds going to her. As an abused child, you quickly learn to shut up and color or a can of whoop-ass gets opened real quick So, without a choice, I did as was required. The silver lining here is that I rapidly learned how to develop a soldier-esque mindset (as a coping mechanism, no doubt). This particular mindset enables me to press through the tough times while others often cannot.

For you, the solution here is obvious -- go back in time and ask your parents to severely beat you and make you their personal slave. Worked for me!

Alternatively, with a clearly defined list of values, priorities, and goals, I think anyone with passion and dedication can work hard towards their goals. I believe that if you are truly committed to something, hard work will be viewed simply a matter of dedication and persistance rather than an insurmountable impossibility. This is how I maintain my work ethic now that I'm an adult -- no bipolar lunatic parents required

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao Tzu

Tom

[Gene]

Originally Posted by bodhiavttas

For people who have an amazing work ethic:

When did you learn to be hard-working and how do you keep it up nowadays? Were you taught that working hard will result in success at an early age? Did you become a hard-worker on your own?



Please share your experiences.

I grew up on a small family farm in Southern Illinois. Everybody worked and I grew up seeing my Grandparents and my father doing hard physical labor to succeed financially. I also saw the amount of thought they put into planing their work.

The family work ethic is one of the great gifts I have received from my childhood and the people who loved me.

I have since learned to take a break and not be driven to overwork.

[HolisticWellness.com]

I find that work ethic is directly tied to whether or not you are doing what you love. I become saddened and frustrated when I hear people put themselves down for having little or no work ethic when really they haven't found their life's calling or passion yet. Also, many people are reticent to work at jobs that really nobody should be doing--jobs that underpay and overextend workers.

When you do what you love and are treated with respect or are self-employed, work is play. You may have heard this before. I can swear that it is true.

I am working (playing!) at what I love now and the hours pass by and I literally wish for more time to work. I hate to stop "working". I sometimes need to be dragged away!

Kristin
Holistic Wellness - Your Virtual Wellness Center

[AdamKayce]

I wasn't one raised with a great work ethic; it was something learned.

But I quickly found that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't motivate myself to do anything if I had no heart in it. Passion was key.

So, like Steve talks about, I realized early on that having a job wasn't for me. And neither was trying to coerce myself into doing anything unpleasant...

So, I run my own business, doing what I love. I married a woman I love, have two kids I love, and do all I do for the two forces in my life I love the most: me (and by extension, my family) and the Divine.

STO, and STS, basically. And that has such a strong internal motivation, that developing a "work ethic" isn't really an issue.

Hope that helps.

[JohnnyJimJams]

I had a crap work ethic. Always late. Always procrastinating. Making promises I couldn't/wouldn't keep. Easily overstressed. Easily overwhelmed.

Now I have a great work ethic. Always on time. Rarely procrastinating. Putting less pressure on myself. Taking on more work. Doing one thing at a time. Staying cool, calm and collected

Read Steves articles on building self discipline really helped me out here. It took me rougly 12 months to really improve to a higher than normal standard. I think the best thing has been a very patient boss I told him that I wanted to improve and that it would take some time. Since he had nothing to lose and everything to gain, he oblidged. I've had 2 pay rises, and been given more responsibility.

[Matt Willard]

I'm still trying to develop a good work ethic. Maybe I should look more carefully at those self-discipline articles now and integrate them into the 30 Day Trial I'm planning out (more like a Week-By-Week Trial for me).

[The Protagonist]

Originally Posted by HolisticWellness.com

I find that work ethic is directly tied to whether or not you are doing what you love. I become saddened and frustrated when I hear people put themselves down for having little or no work ethic when really they haven't found their life's calling or passion yet. Also, many people are reticent to work at jobs that really nobody should be doing--jobs that underpay and overextend workers.

When you do what you love and are treated with respect or are self-employed, work is play. You may have heard this before. I can swear that it is true.

I am working (playing!) at what I love now and the hours pass by and I literally wish for more time to work. I hate to stop "working". I sometimes need to be dragged away!

Kristin
Holistic Wellness - Your Virtual Wellness Center

dude that's great, but look at me. I'm 17 years old and I'm taking 5 Advanced Placement classes. I NEED a good work ethic to succeed here! On average I get 2-3 hours worth of homework, and I can't choose not to do it just because I don't love it. In fact I hate it, but the consequences of not doing it out way the risks. So I do it but with a bad work ethic, and I don't know how to build a good one. So I need tips with that..

[tc33]

Well, if you truly hate it as you said but you have no other choice, I can't think of any other advice other than this: don't think about it, just do it. Stop whining about homework and get it done. Don't feel like it? Too freakin bad. Nobody wants to hear you whine, especially yourself. Just get it done and you can complain about it after it is finished. Now get to work you lazy piece of crap!

[Jill]

Similarly to Kristen, I certainly wouldn't say that I have a great work ethic. But I'm working constantly and loving every minute of it. It's because my work is my passion. People laugh when I say I get to play all day, but that's what it feels like. If it starts to feel like work, I start to lose interest.

[The Protagonist]

Originally Posted by tc33

Well, if you truly hate it as you said but you have no other choice, I can't think of any other advice other than this: don't think about it, just do it. Stop whining about homework and get it done. Don't feel like it? Too freakin bad. Nobody wants to hear you whine, especially yourself. Just get it done and you can complain about it after it is finished. Now get to work you lazy piece of crap!

well yea that's what I do, I work, but I feel there has to be a way that I can be more effective than I am right now, I mean I have friends who do all the work I do, are on the varsity football travel team, still find time to kickback and hang out - basically their work ethic is to get the work done as fast as possible, that's what I want to build my self to