The Curse of “Trying Harder”

“I have to try harder.”

Are you living your life clenching your teeth, driving yourself into a corner with that mantra? You feel exhausted the moment you wake up, and work never leaves your mind even on your days off. Yet, despite working this hard, you somehow aren’t rewarded. Somehow, you aren’t becoming prosperous.

If this sounds like you, you might be a believer in the “Cult of Trying Hard.” Japanese society as a whole is a massive training dojo for this religion. Since childhood, we have been brainwashed with phrases like “Hard work always pays off” and “Buy hardships if you must” (seek out challenges).

However, I can state this with certainty: “Trying hard” is an excuse to stop thinking.

In the modern age, blind effort is not a virtue. It is merely a shifting of responsibility for a lack of results, and nothing more than a “corporate slave spirit” that is most convenient for those who exploit you. In this article, we will break the spell of “trying hard” and perform a “de-brainwashing” to shift you from a life of gritting your teeth to a life of producing results with effortless cool.

This is not a theory I read in a book. It is a scar etched into my own body.

In my twenties, I worked at what Japan calls a “black company” — an exploitative employer. My monthly salary was 140,000 yen (roughly $900 USD). One day, without any explanation, it was cut to 120,000 yen. Take-home pay of 120,000 yen while living alone. No savings possible. Every meal was calculated. The electricity bill arriving at the end of the month felt like a death sentence.

And yet — I believed it was my own fault. “I’m not working hard enough. I’m not delivering enough value. That’s why my pay was cut.” Anger never even occurred to me. What consumed me was pure self-blame. Looking back, this is itself the most terrifying aspect of the “Cult of Trying Hard.” The system doesn’t even need to brainwash you directly. After enough conditioning, you brainwash yourself.

The morning after pulling an all-nighter without eating, gulping down a can of coffee from a vending machine with trembling hands — that lukewarm, overly sweet liquid was the only “reward” for my effort. This is what “trying hard” actually looked like.

Key Points of This Article

• Effort and results are not proportional: The laws of the Showa era are over. It is not the “amount of sweat” but the “system” and “choices” that determine the outcome.
• “Trying hard” is a breeding ground for exploitation: When you work to your limit, the one who benefits is not you, but the employer who uses you cheaply.
• The Culture of “Enjoy”: The global standard is not “Hang in there” (Ganbare) but “Enjoy.” Enjoying the process is the strongest strategy.
• Aim for “Flow”: Truly valuable work does not lie beyond painful effort. It exists within immersion and joy (the flow state).

1. The Greatest Lie: “Hard Work Pays Off”

Don’t be fooled by Survivorship Bias

Successful people say in unison: “I worked myself to death, and that’s why I succeeded.” However, behind them are tens of thousands of people who also worked themselves to death but failed and disappeared. The words of successful people are nothing more than “Survivorship Bias” (the skewed opinions of those who survived).

Effort isn’t even a “necessary condition” for success. Effort in the wrong direction only takes you further from your goal. It’s like wanting to go to Tokyo but sprinting full speed toward the West, lamenting, “I’m trying so hard, why aren’t I arriving?” This is the reality for many “hard workers.”

From the Era of “Quantity” to the Era of “Quality”

In the era centered on factory labor, working hours and production volume were proportional. Therefore, “working long hours = noble.” However, in modern times, where creative and knowledge work are central, this equation does not hold.

Great ideas and solutions are not born from an exhausted brain. One hour of deep focus and a relaxed walk create far more value than 10 hours of overtime. The value system of “long hours = working hard” is now nothing more than a vice that lowers productivity.

2. The Exploitation Structure of “Trying Hard”: Who Are You Running For?

“Fulfillment” Convenient for Management

When companies use “fulfillment” or “self-growth” as bait to force long hours at low wages, it is called “passion exploitation.” Beautiful phrases like “Let’s do our best not for the money, but for the customers’ smiles” are often just sugar-coated commands meaning “So, work overtime for free.”

The profits generated by working yourself to the bone are not reflected in your salary but disappear into shareholder dividends and executive compensation. The more you rely on “trying hard,” the more management neglects efforts to improve the system, focusing instead on wearing out you—the “cheap, high-performance part.”

The Trap of Self-Responsibility

“If you aren’t getting results, it’s because you aren’t trying hard enough.” This theory of self-responsibility is brainwashing designed to conceal flaws in social structures and systems.

If results aren’t coming, it’s not a lack of effort on your part; it’s either a bad business model, an unsuitable environment, or a wrong strategy. Blaming yourself and trying to increase your effort is like believing “if I bail the water out faster, we won’t sink” while riding on a boat made of mud. The correct answer is to switch boats.

3. Busyness is a “Narcotic for the Mind”

The Fear of the Void

Why do we voluntarily try to make ourselves busy even when unasked? It is because we are afraid of the “void.”

When we suddenly have free time, fundamental questions strike us: “What am I living for?” or “Is this okay as it is?” To escape the pain of facing that anxiety, we fill our planners with appointments and chant the spell “I’m busy, I’m busy” to create the illusion that we are important people living fulfilling lives.

Lazy Busyness

“Thoughtless diligence is a kind of laziness.” This is a modern take on the philosopher Pascal’s suggestion.

Postponing essential problem-solving and life’s important decisions to immerse oneself in immediate email replies and chores. That is an escape disguised as “trying hard.” What you truly need to face is the “emptiness” hidden within the busyness.

4. From Effort to Flow

“Ganbare” (Hang in there) vs. “Enjoy”

Differences in language symbolize differences in culture. In Japan, people say “Ganbatte” (Hang in there/Try hard) when parting, but in the West, “Enjoy” or “Good luck” is common.

“Ganbare” assumes enduring pain. On the other hand, “Enjoy” finds value in the process itself. The era of producing results through suffering is over. From now on, those who enjoy the process and work as if playing will ultimately produce the highest performance. The moment you furrow your brow, you cannot beat the “person who is enjoying it.”

The Philosophy of “Wu Wei”

In Lao Tzu’s thought, there is a concept called “Wu Wei.” This doesn’t mean “doing nothing,” but rather “acting without going against the natural flow, without applying artificial force.”

Just as water flows from high to low, use your energy in the direction your talents and passion naturally head. Instead of “trying hard” to forcibly change the current, ride the wave. The “flow state” (immersion) experienced by top athletes and artists is the same. A state where you aren’t even aware of making an effort, just immersed. This is the key to continuing to produce results without suffering.

5. Don’t “Bloom Where You’re Planted”—Change the Location

Environmental Determinism

There is a saying, “Bloom where you are planted,” but a seed placed on concrete will not bloom no matter how hard it tries. To bloom, you must move to a place with soil.

It is not that you are incompetent. The location is bad. A fish trying to run on land looks incompetent, but in the water, it is a genius. Before blaming yourself saying, “I’m useless because I can’t try hard here,” doubt the situation: “Is this my water (field)?” If you place yourself in the right environment, the need to “try hard” disappears, and your abilities will be displayed naturally.

6. Next Action: The Art of Quitting “Trying Hard”

Here is an action plan to “stop trying hard” that you can start today.

1. Decide “What Not to Do”

“What not to do” is just as important as “what to do” to produce results. Obligatory drinking parties, immediate email responses, creating perfect documents, checking social media. List the “wasted efforts” that simply suck your energy and discard them thoroughly. “Time is not something you make; it is something born from discarding.”

2. Have the Courage to Submit at 60%

Rather than spending 3 days aiming for 100 points, submit something at 60% quality in 3 hours and get feedback. Then correct it. This cycle is overwhelmingly faster and results in higher quality. Perfectionism is excessive self-consciousness. No one expects a 100 from you. First “put it out,” then “fix it.” That is the fastest way to grow.

3. Practice Resting Without Guilt

If you feel guilty about resting, that is proof that you are stained with a “slave mentality.” Rest is not slacking off; it is “part of the work (maintenance)” to produce performance.

Turn off your smartphone and have time to do nothing. Take a nap. Go to a hot spring on a weekday. Intentionally create “non-productive time” and practice savoring it from the bottom of your heart. Only when your heart is filled will healthy motivation (“I want to do it!”) well up.

Let the tension drop from your shoulders. Even if you don’t grit your teeth, the Earth will keep spinning. And it is when you are smiling and relaxed that the world smiles back at you.