There’s as hard as you go
There’s as hard as you think you can go
There’s as hard as you can go
There’s as hard as you could go
And there’s as hard as it’s possible to go
To say “I can’t go any harder” is ignorant. Maybe you can
To say “it’s impossible to go any harder” is ignorant. Maybe it is
To say “I can go as hard as I want to” is ignorant. You can’t.
You can go as hard as possible
But no harder
See,
To maximize the output you maximize the input
Likely you can do more, give more, learn more
“What more can I do?“ is a great question
The problem begins when you take this cliche of “you can do it” and turn it into the goal in and of itself.
“You can do it” is supposed to teach you that there’s more you can do — that you can indeed improve your situation
But it’s not supposed to DELUDE you as to what is supposedly possible
The point is not for you to feel better about yourself. The point is you doing something more, finding ways to do something more.
The goal of “you can do this” is not you being able to do this — it’s you doing this. It’s not about who you are (and how good you feel about it) — it’s about WHAT YOU DO.
Therefore FUCK your sacrifice, your “hustler” identity, your tough-guy nonsense,
The IDENTITY was never the destination — it was your GOAL.
It’s not about you — it’s about what you DO.
And you can go as hard as possible — but NO harder
And if you bullshit yourself about how HARD you can go — you’ll never truly go hard.
You’ll be “working all day” — only getting distracted every 5 minutes.
Or you’ll make a token sacrifice, give something up — so that you can delude yourself that you “paid the price” and did “all that was possible”.
This is not how you go harder
The only way to go harder is to be more ASTUTE. More AWARE.
To “go harder” is to get better results. It is to improve your INPUT so as to improve your OUTPUT.
It’s a game like every other — you study it and discover it’s properties and secrets — then you play it more skilfully.
You study the game and you study your game and fix your errors and capitalize on your advantages.
You don’t bullshit yourself about “going harder” — you simply fix your game, fix your strategy.
And then you EXECUTE.
You can go as hard as possible — but NO HARDER.
Wishful thinking and self-delusion hardly make you go any harder — they make you go weaker
You go harder by optimizing your game: how you manage your resources, your time, your energy, your education, your capital, your connections.
Discomfort may be a side-effect of approaching your limit — but it’s NOT the goal, it’s not even a sound indicator (of you going harder).
You go harder when you go harder (get better outcomes).
Tiredness may be a side-effect of you having deployed all your energy-resources — but it’s NOT the goal.
Know how much energy you have available every day — spend it prudently — and you may, or may not feel “tired’.
Tiredness is NOT the goal — the GOAL is the goal.
Busy-ness may be a side-effect of you deploying all your time-resources — but it’s NOT the goal.
Know how much time is required for given pursuit — then spend that time-resource — and NO MORE then that.
Otherwise you’ll fall into the trap of “not having time” — which is just nonsensical delusion. You ALWAYS HAVE TIME — it’s just you CHOOSE where you deploy it (over something else).
And if you spend more time then you AGREED to spend — then you’re simply CHEATING YOURSELF of your OWN TIME (by breaking your own agreement).
You can go as hard as possible — but NO harder.
You can’t spend more time than there is time — so just DECIDE how much time you’re going to invest — then DO invest it, ruthlessly.
You can’t exert more energy than is available to you. LEARN what is sustainable, decide what is desirable — then go a little bit harder.
You can’t invest more capital then you have. Learn how much you’re willing to risk — then invest it most intelligently — and that is it.
Go as hard as possible if you want to maximize your outcomes — but no harder.