Yesterday I wrote a post about the theft of sweat equity and just before I was chatting to my bro @galenkp (literal bro, I don't call people bro, bro) about how those who tend not to do much work, also do not seem to do much out of work. There could be an economic component to this as those who tend to work also likely have money to do more, but I think that is a minor part player in the dynamic.
I think that there is a work ethic component that gives people the ability to remain consistently active in the workplace, and this then carriers through to leisure time activities also. While this is observational in regards to others, I know that when I am the busiest, I also have the most drive to do more, including hobbies and exercise. But, the more I sit around, the more I will sit around.
This I guess is an immediate feedback loop of past behaviors predicting future actions through habit, defaults and comfort. I think this is also why internet life is so addictive for most people, as the more time spent online consuming, the more that can be consumed - kind of like a person who eats a lot having a stretched stomach that can fit a lot without feeling full. The internet is like digital entertainment food that is consumed by those with minds stretched for entertainment.
That isn't very scientific, but I would predict that people who surround themselves with high quality content, ideas and spend their time thinking, will be able to absorb more of that kind of material, than someone who instead spends their times watching trash TV. I remember a vague statistic (don't quote this) that 75% of the poor watch reality television, while only 3% of the rich. I do not think it is because poor people are forced to watch it, and I do not think that rich people do not have access to it. Although that would make for an interesting generational experiment.
We know that nurture plays a role in shaping children's future's in many ways and can shift how their personality develops. I wonder what the difference is between a child that lives in a sanitary whit box with no toys or books. One that goes outside and explores the world and has quality content, and one who is only given low-grade content and encouraged to play Playstation. Dunno, that is a pretty cruel experiment.
What might be interesting to track is if there is a difference between the outcomes of those who took economics classes at high school, and those who didn't. Of course, that is an elective subject in most schools, so the students would already have a selection bias through preference. It would also be interesting to follow the lives of a group of children who are fed quality food by their parents, and those who aren't. I am sure this one has been studied, but I would say that the probabilities of future success are correlated to the diets fed as children. Again though, there s a selection bias in there as parent preference will play a role, and those who have the will and means to provide are likely already selected to have more successful children.
I wonder if my own work ethic is nature or nurture as my father had a very strong work ethic and my mother had the ability to make things happen, although not always with the best thought process behind it. Does this mean that I have an edge, or is it a biological drawback? Hard to say, but as I see it, having a work ethic is a tool, so it depends how you use it.
This is with all tools and resources and there are plenty of hardworking people in this world that believe that hard work gets you nowhere. But, hard work in itself is not the key. Then there are the work smarter, not harder people who think it is clever when they can do less and get the same. Then of course, there are the people who work smarter and harder so that they use their resources well and maximize their range - effective and efficient.
I am a procrastinator by design and therefore I find it easy to all into the trap of lethargic living, doing very little. But, I also have a work ethic once up and running and when I have a project or things to do, I will get them done - and then have additional energy to spend on other things - like enjoying life. There is little in life as good as having a good meal and a glass of wine after a long day of work - but without the work, the food and the wine lose a lot of its flavor for me as, I do not feel as if I have earned it.
Perhaps this is a generational difference as it seems these days, people don't think that leisure and luxury need to be earned, they expect that it is delivered and a right of life. Entitlement kills the taste while working toward and earning adds spice. When you give your all to earn access, you are grateful for what you have - when you passively receive, you may know that it isn't really yours.
And then there is the last factor. One benefit of being able to do the work to earn and own is, if everything is lost you know that you have done it all before and therefore, can do it all again. One of the worst things I see in the future is a generation of people with unemployable skills leisurely sitting around waiting for luxury to be delivered in the form of a better world.
If you want better, work to create it.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
