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I challenge the distinction between hard work and smart work. You cannot be smart without hard work. Amassing knowledge and mental ability requires years of effort and work. It is easier for gifted/clever people, but not inherent.

gifted =/= smart

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I'd read that as 'pick your battles well'. You can work hard at things and get nowhere, you can work hard at other things and make a ton of progress, and these things can sometimes be estimated beforehand.

You can keep churning out spaghetti code (hopefully the uncooked kind) or you can learn and apply better methods, for example.

If you're working in a bubble self reflection is definitely important. If you have colleagues hopefully they will help you.

When people are too much hung on hard work, they do stupid innefective things. Like, studying that much that you sleep deprive yourself, long crunch in work, sleeping under table in work as proof of commitment etc. Training so much that you get injury from it.

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