Enjoyable Effort

The effort is the reward in itself.

A life without effort isn’t a life worth living

Effort means there’s some sort of resistance. There is an immense joy in fighting the resistance and overcoming.

But even if you cannot overcome the resistance (if you fail a new PR in your powerlifting), it doesn’t matter so much. Why? The pursuit, the effort, and the realization of your brazen and bold efforts is the reward in itself!

What is enjoyable effort?

I feel effort can only be enjoyable if you can determine and dictate the task at hand. When others tell me what to do (against my own desires), the effort always feel pointless and in vain.

This perhaps the first thing is this:

Design your life in order for you to dictate what you decide to put in effort (or not).

Only put in great effort and industry when it is somerhinf you care about. Put no effort into what you don’t care about.

Force finds a way

Effort: ex+fortis (force, bravery, physical power).

Thus you can control your effort. You cannot control the result, but you can control the physical strength, courage and bravery into your acts.

We don’t have unlimited effort power

There’s only 24 hours in a day, and there’s only so much biological and metabolic strength, force, and energy we have in our reserves for this period. Thus it seems the secret to becoming stronger is actually figuring out how to become more economical with your efforts or your actions. Perhaps strength is achieving more with less.

What saps your strength?

Conserve your strength, effort power, willpower, and energy by being ruthless about pruning away the things, obligations, or people who leech your strength, focus and energy.

This means: say “no” more often. Avoid, ignore, or delay/procrastinate more. Let things accomplish themselves by themselves (action without action, “Wu-wei” in Taoism).

Enjoy your efforts and enjoy your life!

ERIC