In order to make something of yourself in your twenties, it helps to have traits like talent, flexibility, and confidence. A solid education doesn’t hurt, either.
However, if you haven’t developed a strong work ethic, no amount of skill will allow you to succeed in your chosen field. If you’re not willing to work hard, you’re not going to yield the rewards you seek.
That’s because. . .
You’re Starting At The Bottom
Whatever career you decide to pursue upon graduating college or high school, odds are good that you’ll be starting in a low-level position. You need to dedicate yourself to your job before you can move up in the world. Unfortunately, this puts you at a disadvantage to those who have seniority. Over the course of several years, they’ve been able to prove that they are willing to put in the work necessary to get the job done; as a result, if they occasionally fail to deliver their best performance, they get the benefit of the doubt. They have a proven track record, a history that an employer can look back on to see what they are capable of.
You, on the other hand, are starting with a blank slate. That may mean you have no mistakes tarnishing your reputation, but it also means that you haven’t demonstrated your value yet. If you don’t live up to expectations, few people will assume that this is anything other than a representation of your overall work ethic. They can’t reference your past successes and remind themselves that you’re a good employee. Your current performance is the only means they have of judging you.
In other words, you’re going to have to work very hard to prove yourself. It’s the only way of standing out.
You Have A Lot To Learn
You may be intelligent, you may have a degree proving that you’re capable of passing your college courses, but you must understand that you still have much to learn in order to truly succeed in your career. If you don’t want to take the time to develop your skills and acquire new knowledge, your opportunities for growth will be limited.
Yes, it can be frustrating to pour years of effort into preparing for a job, only to discover that you’re not nearly as prepared as you thought, but that’s simply the reality of work. No matter how upset you may be about the situation, it’s not going to change simply because you want it to. Instead, you’ll have to reach a point where you accept that you’ll never get to stop learning. Once you understand this, you’ll simply realize that part of being successful involves continuing to adapt.
No One’s Doing You Favors
While we may not have liked it at the time, our years in high school were important; we not only received an education, but did so in an environment constructed to make sure we had as many chances as possible to succeed. Even in college, your professors probably took some interest in your performance, offering assistance if you were struggling.
In the real world, you’re expected to do a job in order to benefit someone else. True, many of us do strive to help each other out if we’re feeling too challenged, but at the end of the day, the goal has shifted. As a student, you were catered to by people whose job it was to help you prepare for adult life. As an adult, it’s your job to serve others. However you wind up doing that, to some degree, is up to you, but if you don’t put in the work to fulfill your responsibilities, someone else will get the chance to.
It Provides Self-Respect
Whatever you want out of life, be it a low-key, middle-class lifestyle, or a more extravagant existence, by the time you’re an adult, you’ve hopefully reached the point where you no longer want someone to simply give it to you. By now, you’ve probably realized that the best way to enjoy anything is to feel like you’ve earned it. It’s simply a matter of self-respect.
Without a strong work ethic, such self-respect is very difficult to come by. Even if you manage to live the life you’ve always wanted – maybe you fell into some money, or have a spouse willing to give you whatever you want – you may not be able to appreciate it that much if you haven’t devoted yourself to earning it.
Work ethic, after all, is the result of personal choice. We’re all born with certain advantages and disadvantages. We can’t control those factors very much. We can, however, decide how much we’re willing to do to make the most out of our advantages.
