How The Habit Of Hard Work Changes Our Life

A father with three lazy sons was losing health but was wealthy with a lot of fertile lands that needed to be tended to, to be fruitful. However he tried, he could not get his sons to the land and mow it to make it useful.

One day he called his sons to his side and said “I am failing in health and cannot work anymore. Since you do not work my land I am selling it and shall share the money amongst you to make your life happy. Now listen carefully. Through years of toil, I have amassed wealth that I have hidden in the land in a wooden box. It contains gold and silver that can take care of you for years to come. The key to the box is in a seedbox that your mother keeps. But I have forgotten where I have buried the box, but it sure is in our land three feet below somewhere. But when you dig make sure that neighbours are not aware that you are digging a treasure, but only tilling the soil”. And he passed out.

A day after the father was laid to rest, the mothers aw that the land was marked out with pegs from end to ends and the sons were digging. No one would know that they were digging for the treasure of gold and silver. Days went by and the sons were too involved in their work and their wives joined and made the days good. Days on, the lazy sons were active, their bodies showing signs of health and the wives were happy, but the box remained under the soil with more land to be dug.

Then it started to rain one night and poured from heaven without let. The mother woke the sons up in the wee hours of the next morning and said “It has rained, the soil is turned and wet and I have seeds. Why not show them?” There was more land to be dug for the treasure, but it could wait and the sons went sowing the seeds. Tomatoes, turnips, cabbage, tubers and leaves all went into the tilled soil each in different peg marked area and thus the day ended. The mother was happy and so were the wives.

Months later, the soil bloomed in great profusion, but the sons were digging the last plots of the peg marked land. It was the next season and time for other crops. No treasure as promised in gold and silver came forth. Harvest from the land was sold for good money and the sons shared it. They then realised their hard work had given them the treasure and it was there for them at all times and hard work was what mattered. Perseverance for a treasure had given them the happiness they were after.

In every walk of life, unless hard work is put in, no worthwhile result shall be forthcoming. The treasure is the goal we set for ourselves and insisting on achieving the goal is hard work, which pays off in the end.

Hard work is the endeavour to achieve the unseen. Hard work is the persistent effort put in to achieve a specific goal, for which, there should be knowledge of the work and motivation. Knowing the means to achieve a goal and putting appropriate effort is hard work. It could be physical or intellectual. Hard work fails where motivation lacks and intent is not clear.

Hard work needs to be by “working smart” and if you are not going to put in the best effort, better not go about it.