Hard Work is Overrated (Says This Recovering 'Genius')
The painful lesson I learned after 6 months of failing at 'advanced' strategies
I’ve always gravitated toward the hard path.
Not because it’s noble. Not because I enjoy pain. But because deep down, I believed that if I could do the hard thing, I could prove something—to myself, but maybe even to the world.
So, after a traumatic brain injury, when most people would’ve taken time to recover, recalibrate, and maybe pick something easier, I didn’t.
Exhibit A?
My brilliant idea: deciding to go back to study aeronautical engineering.
Rocket science. Literally.
But the moment of realization actually came when I was out painting with my girlfriend.
She went to work painting soft, beautiful flowers—simple, graceful, and effortless.
I, on the other hand, tried to paint a Picasso masterpiece… And let’s just say it ended up more like a toddler’s spaghetti accident.
It made me realize something important:
Sometimes, the hard path is a gift for growth.
But only if you respect what came before it.
I didn’t respect the basics of painting before trying to recreate abstract genius.
I didn’t respect the foundational understanding of engineering before diving headfirst into year three.
And life has a funny way of humbling you when you get ahead of yourself.
When the Universe Steps In
Whether or not you believe in the divine or something greater than ourselves, I truly believe a higher power stepped in.
It saved me from something that could have broken me—physically, mentally, and spiritually.
I was chasing difficulty like it was a badge of honor, forgetting that true wisdom lies in mastering the basics first, then moving forward with intention.
I'm grateful to the higher powers above for rerouting me before I wrecked myself.
Held Back to Move Forward
Right now, I find myself between chapters.
Not stuck—just suspended in that strange middle place between who I was and who I’m becoming. I’m still figuring out what to do next.
And you know what? I think that that’s okay.
Because here’s what I’ve learned:
Once you’re given a vision for your life—whether through faith, reflection, or sheer gut feeling—trust that it was given to you for a reason.
Even if you don’t know how or when it will happen.
The future doesn’t exist.
It’s a blank page constantly being rewritten.
The only thing that truly exists is the now.
And what you do now—the actions you take, the habits you build, the moves you make—that is what reshapes the future.
Don’t Just Step a Toe In
Take your time.
Think. Reflect. Sit with the discomfort.
But when it’s time to dive—dive.
Come out the other side.
Try it, taste it, build it, break it.
Fail if you must, but find out.
Because regret doesn’t come from trying.
It comes from not trying fully enough.
It comes from half-assing something you should’ve gone all in on.
The “what ifs” and “I should haves” are the thoughts that haunt your 2 a.m. mind.
But when you commit, even if it flops, there’s peace.
Peace in knowing, “I gave it everything.”
Here’s the Truth
Choosing the hard path can grow you.
But only if you start with humility, respect the basics, and act from the present—not from fear, not from ego, not from pressure.
Your vision is valid.
Your timeline is sacred.
And your future is being shaped by what you do now.
Let’s talk.
Have you ever taken the hard path and crashed because you skipped the basics?
Are you caught between chapters, trying to trust the next step?
👇 Drop a comment below—I’d love to hear your story.
Thanks for reading! 🚀