We love to romanticize the grind because it makes the story feel noble (“I suffered, therefore it’s good”). But effort is a cost, not a moral achievement. The only reason to pay a cost is if you’re buying something worth having.

What 

is

 virtuous then?

Not “hard.”

  • Clarity (knowing what you’re actually trying to do)
  • Craft (getting better at the real skill, not the ritual)
  • Taste (choosing what matters)
  • Impact (something real changes because you did it)

Difficulty can show up along the way, sure—but it’s not the medal. It’s the receipt.

Two kinds of “hard”

This is the whole game:

1) Bad hard (friction hard)

Hard because:

  • the process is messy
  • you’re fighting the wrong constraints
  • you’re doing it manually when it should be systemized
  • you’re chasing “complex = impressive”

This kind of hard is noise. Kill it with templates, automation, better tools, better decisions, better boundaries.

2) Good hard (skill hard)

Hard because:

  • you’re building a core ability
  • you’re confronting reality (feedback, failure, refinement)
  • you’re doing deliberate practice
  • you’re paying “tuition” for mastery

This hard is signal. Keep it. Respect it. Train it.

Rule of thumb:

If it’s hard and you’re not getting measurably better → it’s probably friction.

If it’s hard and you’re leveling up → it’s probably the point.

The trap: “hard” as identity

People get addicted to difficulty because it provides instant emotional payoff:

  • “Look how serious I am.”
  • “Look how much I sacrificed.”
  • “If it’s easy, it doesn’t count.”

But that’s backwards. Pros don’t chase hard. Pros chase clean.

Hardcore principle: Make the goal hard, make the method simple

Want something ambitious? Great. Now make the execution:

  • repeatable
  • boring
  • obvious
  • low-drama

Because drama isn’t dedication. Drama is inefficiency wearing a leather jacket.

Quick self-check (use this when you’re in the grind)

Ask:

  1. What outcome am I buying with this pain?
  2. Is there a simpler path to the same result?
  3. Is this difficulty coming from the skill… or from my setup?
  4. If I had to do this every day for a year, what would I change first?

Examples that make it real

  • Weightlifting: Adding weight with trash form is “hard,” but it’s not virtuous—it’s debt. Clean reps are the truth.
  • Photography: Walking 10 miles doesn’t make the frame good. Taste + timing does. The best shots often come from less chaos and more awareness.
  • Building anything: If a process needs heroics to work, the process is broken.

The punchline

Difficulty is not a virtue. Direction is.

If it’s hard, cool. Now prove it’s useful.

If you want, tell me what area you meant this for (work, training, relationships, creativity), and I’ll translate the idea into a ruthless set of rules for that domain.