# The Grind By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2022-08-26 [[Routine]] activities can be a drag. Whether it is school, exercise, [[work]], or something else, the persistence required can be a grind. How does one approach the grinding [[nature]] of life? A critical first step is awareness and acknowledgment. There are so many distractions that becoming aware of a grinding situation can be challenging. Even when the awareness eventually sets in, it takes a degree of [[courage]] to acknowledge it for what it is. People engage frequently in various forms of distractions, so they don’t have to address this aspect of the human condition. This can be observed in one’s occupation as well. Becoming an analyst is a long-term investment. To become proficient, one must pursue various forms of education, training, and experience. Each of these requires time and dedication, and each one of those elements independently can be a grind. Then, once all those activities are complete, one has simply become a proficient analyst. It is the start, not the completion. At that point, one is faced with sustaining a career over an indefinitely long expanse of time. Again, doing this day after day can be fatiguing. The grind is real, and it can be unrelenting. Dealing with the grind requires something more than simply awareness and acknowledgment. Transcending the grind requires a change in [[thinking]]. Of course, daily activities can become a source of drudgery. But they don’t have to. Finding enjoyment in what one does is possible. One approach is to start viewing one’s activities as ends rather than means. When one is doing something to get something else (e.g., a promotion, a raise, social esteem) it can be challenging to keep “doing” as one awaits the desired “payoff.” If one is invested in the activity for what it “is,” the focus becomes the inherent fulfillment associated with the task. [[Albert Camus]] addressed this in [[The Myth of Sisyphus]], concluding that one should envision Sisyphus as being happy in his toil. When one learns to overcome the grind, one is free to enjoy the moment as it is. #### Related Items [[Analytics]] [[The Human Condition]] [[Distractions]] [[Existential|Existentialism]]