There was a strong and noticeable difference between those who had a strong work ethic and those who didn't.
Let me explain. Some students jumped right in and already knew how to sweep a floor on kitchen clean-up duty. There were also those who didn't know how, and tried to slip out the door when it was cleaning time. Cleaning was stressful for some, and just part of the normal routine for others. I noticed that those who knew how to clean were also those who for the most part were more mature and able to interact well with adults.
Many children are growing up feeling rather entitled. Their parents had a hard time as a youth, and therefore are trying to avoid those pains and trials by making life as easy as possible for their child. This is great, and I so appreciate how hard parents work to make a good life for their children. The fact remains, however, that there is no substitute for hard work. If children don't get chances to develop that work ethic, it's going to hurt them, not help them, down the road.
Nothing worth accomplishing comes without work in this life. My marriage is the best thing in my life, and it's a lot of work. My career is so rewarding, and it's a lot of work. I love this blog, and it's a lot of work. It might be rather American Dream of me, but I honestly believe that being able to work hard at something is more important than how smart you are, how many connections you have, or any other factor. TV shows lately are all about people who are lucky, not hard-working, and people who take shortcuts and it works. But in the real world, nothing works as well as... work.
This article about raising resilient children is what got me thinking about this in the first place.
And this one about hard work predicting success in college was interesting too.
What do you think about hard work?
Are there other traits that predict success more?
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
