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Abstract

he trending quote “Work smarter, not harder” is becoming a cliche thrown around by young aspiring entrepreneurs.</p><p id="a4d2">I believe we are getting it wrong. Sure there is a place for working smart, but smart work is no substitute for the actual work itself.</p><p id="ad35">When it comes to real lasting success and a life with a quality lifestyle, there will always be a required level of work.</p><p id="4922">In keeping a healthy and strong body, the smart work is to eat healthily, but eating healthy without any form of cardio or any other light exercises, still leaves the body weaker when compared to someone doing both the smart work as well as the hard physical work.</p><h1 id="4e8a">Inaction isn’t really doing nothing</h1><p id="0677">It’s usually how we see it, that by doing nothing, we really are doing nothing. We may indeed be doing nothing, but it doesn't mean nothing’s actually been done.</p><p id="5291">Just as the reward for action is positive results, the reward for inaction is negative repercussions.</p><p id="2b14">While it seemed to me that for over two years I was actually not running, in truth my inaction was causing harm to my body, making me easily fatigued which caused the itching all over my body as my blood vessels became too constricted to allow easy flow of blood.</p><p id="fe8c">That was what the google search returned by the way.</p><p id="426b">Do not think this only applies to exercise, it also applies to all areas of life, which is why Jim Rohn made the following remarks;</p><p id="b1e7">“We have to get good at two things in life; either planting in the fall or begging in the spring.”</p><h1 id="8ac7">We are only as strong as the hour we put in</h1><p id="554d">It is impossible to compare an athlete who runs every day for three hours and someone who runs once a week. In such a scenario, you’ll find your answer on the race track.</p><p id="eee9">They say it is not the hours you put in, but what you put into the hours that counts.</p><p id="099e">Since I started on Medium, I imbibed the advice nearly everyone gave — write every day. I’m glad I hid the advice because I am reaping the reward today. The hours I spend writing daily have enabled me to write with ease, come up with new blog ideas and overall, the quality of my content is slowly increasing. Not to mention the confidence I have garnered along the way as well.</p><h1 id="b884">What we don’t use, we lose</h1><p i

Options

d="37cf">The law of USE states that, whatever we neglect or refuse to use, we lose.</p><p id="479e">There is no negotiation. This ties perfectly with our first point which says, mastery is not permanent.</p><p id="e3ee">I use to play football, which in America I'm sure is called soccer. There have been times where due to work and busy schedules, I do not play for months. what happens whenever I get to play again after a long time? I suck — big time.</p><p id="cf6c">The law is simple, neglect writing for a while, you’ll struggle to pick it up again. Refuse to play that instrument for a couple of years, you'll get rusty when you get back to it.</p><h1 id="6cd9">Final Word</h1><p id="066c">The key therefore I found is — consistency is king. Life is a continuously moving process where there is no stopping.</p><p id="f0b9">Indeed in life, there are no middle grounds — you’re either going up fast or slow or coming down fast or slow.</p><h2 id="41f8">As a recap…</h2><p id="849d">1. Without Consistency, we are nothing. Mastery is temporary. 2. There’s no substitute for work. 3. Inaction isn’t really doing nothing. 4. We are only as strong as the hour we put in. 5. What we don’t use, we lose.</p><p id="954a">More on Medium</p><div id="2f13" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/2-kinds-of-books-every-writer-should-read-de9fb55ab9ff"> <div> <div> <h2>2 Kinds of Books Every Writer Should Read</h2> <div><h3>Improve your writing with these books</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*WsA6JAzuYqOcahNNk4Y6og.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="9488" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/on-the-shores-of-destiny-c94d377f3d5b"> <div> <div> <h2>On the Shores of Destiny</h2> <div><h3>A true story of why people do what they do — continued</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*86Q0BImDhnZ1ptnJfqzRXg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

I Tried to Run Again, After 2 Years, and this is What I Learned

Mastery isn’t permanent

“What causes itching during exercise?”

That was the question I typed in google immediately I got out of the shower after a failed run. I haven't been running for nearly two years. And my body was angrily making me aware of the fact.

I got on my running shoes and hit the road at 10 pm. I love to run when it's dark and quiet. Or should I say, I used to love running when it’s dark and quiet?

Barely 30 minutes in, my legs began to itch a bit, and then itch some more and then, some more. To the point where I was brought to a complete halt and had my hands scratching all over. From my legs to my thighs, and then my belly. It was unbearable — horrible to say the least.

It was difficult to continue. I rushed home to hit the shower and make the google search to find out why this was happening.

This got me thinking, just like many things in life, including writing, what happens when we ignore something or certain aspects of our lives?

Mastery isn’t permanent

Robert Greene, in his book Mastery, talked about the relevance of attaining the level of mastery, with really good insights. Everyone starts off as a learner, an apprentice, a phase where we must stay focused and determined.

But if we are not careful, we’d make the mistake of believing all we have to do, is master a certain craft and that is it. Absolutely not!

Mastery is not permanent. You may have mastered the act, but if you abandon it for a period of time, it is inevitable that you’ll struggle to get back on. You’ll experience some restrictions, both mental and physical.

There’s no substitute for work

I know we’re all looking for a way to make it easy. The trending quote “Work smarter, not harder” is becoming a cliche thrown around by young aspiring entrepreneurs.

I believe we are getting it wrong. Sure there is a place for working smart, but smart work is no substitute for the actual work itself.

When it comes to real lasting success and a life with a quality lifestyle, there will always be a required level of work.

In keeping a healthy and strong body, the smart work is to eat healthily, but eating healthy without any form of cardio or any other light exercises, still leaves the body weaker when compared to someone doing both the smart work as well as the hard physical work.

Inaction isn’t really doing nothing

It’s usually how we see it, that by doing nothing, we really are doing nothing. We may indeed be doing nothing, but it doesn't mean nothing’s actually been done.

Just as the reward for action is positive results, the reward for inaction is negative repercussions.

While it seemed to me that for over two years I was actually not running, in truth my inaction was causing harm to my body, making me easily fatigued which caused the itching all over my body as my blood vessels became too constricted to allow easy flow of blood.

That was what the google search returned by the way.

Do not think this only applies to exercise, it also applies to all areas of life, which is why Jim Rohn made the following remarks;

“We have to get good at two things in life; either planting in the fall or begging in the spring.”

We are only as strong as the hour we put in

It is impossible to compare an athlete who runs every day for three hours and someone who runs once a week. In such a scenario, you’ll find your answer on the race track.

They say it is not the hours you put in, but what you put into the hours that counts.

Since I started on Medium, I imbibed the advice nearly everyone gave — write every day. I’m glad I hid the advice because I am reaping the reward today. The hours I spend writing daily have enabled me to write with ease, come up with new blog ideas and overall, the quality of my content is slowly increasing. Not to mention the confidence I have garnered along the way as well.

What we don’t use, we lose

The law of USE states that, whatever we neglect or refuse to use, we lose.

There is no negotiation. This ties perfectly with our first point which says, mastery is not permanent.

I use to play football, which in America I'm sure is called soccer. There have been times where due to work and busy schedules, I do not play for months. what happens whenever I get to play again after a long time? I suck — big time.

The law is simple, neglect writing for a while, you’ll struggle to pick it up again. Refuse to play that instrument for a couple of years, you'll get rusty when you get back to it.

Final Word

The key therefore I found is — consistency is king. Life is a continuously moving process where there is no stopping.

Indeed in life, there are no middle grounds — you’re either going up fast or slow or coming down fast or slow.

As a recap…

1. Without Consistency, we are nothing. Mastery is temporary. 2. There’s no substitute for work. 3. Inaction isn’t really doing nothing. 4. We are only as strong as the hour we put in. 5. What we don’t use, we lose.