brute force isn’t the way

there are problems
that require physical strain
and then there are the ones that
require a little finesse…
some predicaments
are more involved than you think…
there’s a complication to it
that you just can’t see clearly
because maybe you’re too close
or too set in a certain way of thinking…
this nearsightedness
will be the downfall of you
so step back, my friend,
and view the whole scene for what it is—
take it all in — see that forest, baby,
and get off your damn tree!
you can’t brute force your way
through every problem
to where you’re literally all effort
and no sense…
this can be a nice life,
the resources are there —
the help is there —
busting your ass is pointless
just for the sake of it —
you have to be smart about it
…all the effort in the world
won’t change anything
if there’s no logic or strategy to it…
there’s trying
and then there’s doing what’s right…
let’s get ourselves cleaned up, you hear,
let’s live a harmonious life —
we owe it to ourselves…don’t we?

Notes:

There’s this tendency in our society to think that all problems can be solved with persistence and hard work. That if you simply want something bad enough and you put the hours in, that you’ll get a result. But that’s not the case. Sometimes it really is better to work smart than to work hard. You can’t grit your teeth and brute force your way through everything.

Sometimes you need a little finesse. Maybe a little luck. Maybe you need just the right perspective to see what the odds are and readjust your behavior. Now, when it comes to my life, I need to remind myself of this constantly. I’m one of those people who thinks if I just keep hammering out words for hours upon hours, days upon days, that eventually the world will accept me as a writer. But I need to remember that there’s more to it than that.

You need time to think, to recover. Take time to learn. You need to take time to see what else is out there. You have to read and do your research. You have to make connections and see where you fit in to the larger whole. You need thoughtfulness, strategy, proper mentorship, and camaraderie. You gotta see things from every angle before you rush ahead and spend all your effort on what could amount to nothing.

The tortoise eventually beat the hare. That guy was slow, but he wasn’t stupid.

The same philosophy is true when it comes to your mind and your heart. If there are things bothering you. If you got all these emotions and you’re full of internal strife. Anger, anxiety, sadness. All of these are natural things to feel. But some people try to push these negative emotions deep down. I certainly am guilty of this. We grin and bear it. We think we can brute force our way through it, because we’re afraid that if other people see us slow down or communicate our grief, that it’ll be perceived as weakness.

We have to clean ourselves up a little bit. We have to be honest with ourselves and the people around us. You can keep busting your ass for the sake of it, but that’s tantamount to spinning your wheels in mud. Get out of your own head, ask for help. Be smart about it. Seek guidance. Someone out there who knows what they’re doing can help you get things moving again.

Anti Void

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