in rigorous defence of the try-hards

Hard work is an act of trying hard. It involves actually caring and investing yourself in something. And strangely enough, even though hard work is one of the most valued attributes in the world, most of us have been made to view ‘trying hard’ as an insult. The enthusiastic ones, the interested ones, the passionate ones are all labelled ‘try hards’, laughed at and brushed aside, their achievements discounted. What is a victory if you need to try?

Being the nerdiest nerd you could possibly ever find, I’ve dealt with my fair share of being labelled as a try-hard. Like a lot of people these days (if you know you know), I did NOT walk out of the womb knowing advanced calculus and chemical equations. I had to work really hard to make sense of what I was studying and to do well in my studies, which was something that was really important to me. I remember being ridiculed throughout school because I took my academics seriously by all the self-proclaimed geniuses who didn’t as much as touch their books. If I ever got 90% by studying my ass off there were always those brilliant specimens who got 89% while watching Netflix the whole day. You can guess who the stupid one was.

On one hand, we’re expected to hustle and flex how little we sleep but on the other end, we’re supposed to flex how successful we are despite not working for it? Someone needs to volunteer to help me make sense of these incompatible demands.

I have been a try-hard my whole life. I put effort into everything I care about. And I care about a LOT. I care about my work, I care about the way I present myself, I care about my relationships with other people, I care about my hobbies. And as a result, I try. I put in the effort, in whatever way I know. I don’t shy away from being honest about it. And if that comes with the label of being a ‘try-hard’ then so be it. Everyone should be a try-hard. And if you aren’t a try-hard yet then you probably haven’t found something that you truly care about.

For a really long time, we’ve been wired to worship the success that comes after hard work without cultivating an appreciation for the very work which gets us there in the first place. The result is glittering and completely instagrammable. The journey? Not so much. Do we hide our trials because we want to, or because it’s what we think we must do? You don’t owe it to anyone to hide the investment of yourself in the things you really care about.

I recently answered an exam that I had spent the last few months working really hard for. I went above and beyond, and I still didn’t get what I wanted despite knowing that there is nothing more I could’ve done.

The conversation around success and hard work is usually very one-dimensional. Hard work leads to success. That is the objective statement we’ve been fed for a really long time. I’m here to make a slightly different case. Hard work is important in order to achieve success. It’s not the only factor, but it definitely is an indispensable one. But the work you put in doesn’t guarantee an outcome. That might be discouraging to most, but hard work can teach you so much in the process itself. It forces you to introspect, to get uncomfortable, to persevere, and even though all of that doesn’t guarantee that you will succeed, it DOES guarantee that you will walk away knowing that you played every card you had been dealt to be the best of your ability at the time. Hard work does not guarantee success, but it does guarantee that you will always be at peace with how the story turned out. And for me, that is enough reason to still show up and to continue trying.

So to all the try-hards that relentlessly keep the world on its axis, may you always wear how hard you try as your greatest badge of honour. You’ve earned it.