The Art of Being Smart

You often hear people say: don't just work hard, work smart. Unfortunately, this maxim, well-intentioned though it may be, is also the the biggest excuse for being lazy,

The problem is that there are people who think they are being 'smart' by cutting corners, taking advantage of other peoople or screwing the system. Evading work is considered smart. They spend their entire lives avoiding difficult tasks and only doing things that they like or enjoy. Any kind of work that requires some effort is considered 'low-level' or not worthy of their time.

That fact is that most people are smart enough, and that is good enough for me. As an employer, I would prefer a hardworking guy with average ability but possesses an eagerness to learn than one who thinks he is a genius and insists on cherry-picking work.

Of course, a hardworking and brilliant person would be the ideal combination. Having such a talent would be a boon to any company or team. But a manager has to plan for a system to work sufficiently well with average material. If one is lucky enough to get an outstanding talent, then that would be bonus. Stars come and go, but the machinery has to continue ticking.

No one in their right frame of mind would consciously 'work stupid'. It is a given that we have to always work as smart as we can. Hardwork doesn't mean mindlessly doing something like an automaton; instead, it implies an attitude of constantly giving one's best and never letting go of an opportunity to learn.

Hardwork is the art and practice of being smart. By working hard, one inevitably becomes smart.

Fire and Wire

I try to go for a run and a light workout at the neighbourhood park everyday. Just 30 minutes of exercise makes me feel energized and feeling great for the rest of the day.  Even when I do not have enough sleep the night before, a morning workout session always drives away all vestiges of sleepiness and clears my mind for productive work.

If one must end up being an addict of some sort, one might as well be addicted to exercise.  There are lots of research that indicates that exercise aids neurogenesis--or the creation of new neurons in the brain. It used to be thought the brain does not grow new neurons and whatever amount of grey matter we have are fixed and start dying away as we age. Research in recent years have proven this to be false. The brain can and does improve with age!

You often hear people say, 'Oh, I've already forgotten what I've learned in the university'. True, we might have forgotten certain facts of details which we cramped for our exams but I believe that we never lose the analytical skills that we learned. Personally, I feel that my brainpower has actually improved over the years. When I browse through some of my old mathematics textbooks, I realized how much better I am able to understand all the concepts written there, when during my students days I had found them mostly dry and incomprehensible. 

One thing I've noticed, most people, as they grow older, become more lazy to think.  You see them a lot in large corporations: people are very 'hardworking' when it comes to attending meetings; but when it comes to sitting down to analyze facts and writing concepts down on paper, everyone tries to avoid doing it.

The brain gets better the more you use it. When one stops using it, degeneration sets in. So never try to avoid difficult intellectual work. Like the body, the brain too needs regular exercise. The more your neurons fire, the more the wire together. The more complex your neural wiring, the 'smarter' you become!

Qualities We Need

This is my first blog entry for the year, and hopefully there'll be many more to come in the coming days and months.

My daily routine these days is pretty regimented, with very little chance of variation due to the many work and family obligations that I have. Well, even a bachelor has family commitments--old folks to take care of, mortgages to pay and properties to maintain. And these are tough economic times for everyone. We'll all need to hunker down and weather the storm the best we can.

It is tough times like these that really test our resilience and character. We must remain steadfast and never waiver in our self-confidence. To stand still is to regress. Trudge forward, if you can't jog or run. The key is to keep on moving, and to continue learning.

Learning never stops. Everytime we read a book, we always learn something new. It is impossible to read without learning something in the process. Even works of fiction. Sometimes you'll learn even more from well-written works of fiction.

I listen to a lot of podcasts and audiobooks, as I believe our ears are under-utilized as an input channel. We "abuse" our ears by subjecting them to noise and random sounds. Sadly, only the blind know how to use their ears as a serious instrument for acquiring knowledge.

The Chinese Lunar New Year celebration is coming up next week. Let's welcome the Year of the Ox by reflecting on the qualities of this animal: strength, resilience, toughness and hardwork. Exactly the qualities we need to tackle these trying times.