Working hard is its own reward.. oh, wait. That's virtue.

March 31, 2016 4:32 PM

I am in need of some working hard/work motivation phrases. Quotes, platitudes you learned in kindergarten, something your dad used to say, anything goes. Bonus imaginary metapoints for anything that includes reasons or motivations to enjoy work (even if it's not very enjoyable).
posted by atinna to Work & Money (26 answers total)

"I’m a Great Believer in Luck. The Harder I Work, the More Luck I Have"
posted by H. Roark at 4:34 PM on March 31, 2016 [3 favorites]

"Nothing Will Make You Feel Better Except Doing The Work."
posted by rogerrogerwhatsyourrvectorvicto at 4:46 PM on March 31, 2016 [2 favorites]

To be of use
By Marge Piercy

The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half-submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.
posted by foxfirefey at 5:02 PM on March 31, 2016 [24 favorites]

"If you trust in yourself. ..
and believe in your dreams. . .
and follow your star. . .
you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”

Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:05 PM on March 31, 2016 [13 favorites]

Would an opposite help?
"They say hard work never killed anybody, but I figure why take the chance?" -- Pres Ronald Reagan
posted by LonnieK at 5:22 PM on March 31, 2016

Can't go over it, can't go around it, may as well go through it.
posted by hepta at 5:37 PM on March 31, 2016 [2 favorites]

Experience starts when you begin.
Luck is the residue of design. (You can find an attribution. I've heard it attributed to Branch Ricky, but I'm not sure that's solid.)
Measure twice, cut once.
Do it right, or do it over.
Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration. - Thomas Edison.
Eighty percent of life is showing up. - Woody Allen
If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself. - Mickey Mantle
posted by SemiSalt at 6:07 PM on March 31, 2016

It's My Job... to be better than the rest, and that makes the day for me.
posted by evilmomlady at 6:52 PM on March 31, 2016

The only way out is through.

Do the thing.

Action begets motivation.
posted by samthemander at 6:54 PM on March 31, 2016

Needs must!

Short form for the old "needs must when the devil drives"

Best version from Black Adder:
"Needs must when the devil vomits into your kettle."
posted by chapps at 7:11 PM on March 31, 2016

Don't undertake vast projects with a half-vast plan.

If it was all fun, they wouldn't call it "work".

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 7:18 PM on March 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: It doesn't fit your bonus point criteria, but I find "You don't have to like it, you just have to do it" very useful.

I also like "Procrastination is an option your mind provides, not an order you have to follow."
posted by une_heure_pleine at 7:28 PM on March 31, 2016 [2 favorites]

I strongly recommend The Cult of Done!
posted by forthright at 7:29 PM on March 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

"Never explain, never retract, never apologize. Just get the thing done and let them howl."

Nellie L. McClung
posted by chapps at 7:35 PM on March 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
posted by warriorqueen at 8:10 PM on March 31, 2016 [5 favorites]

Action cures fear.
posted by Vaike at 8:41 PM on March 31, 2016 [4 favorites]

"The key is not the will to win... everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important." - Bob Knight

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - usually attributed to Thomas Edison (although he probably didn't say it)
posted by SisterHavana at 9:05 PM on March 31, 2016

I learned to "Do it once, do it right" (or "Just fucking go and do it properly the first time") years ago and that has always motivated me (as a fairly lazy procrastinator who does not believe in creating work for herself) to be thorough and conscientious - I know it is far more of a pain to have to keep going back and redoing something that I've done sloppily.

So maybe not quite enjoying work, but I do view it as avoiding future work. A favour for busier tireder me later in the day when I want to leave work on time.
posted by tinkletown at 9:23 PM on March 31, 2016

"It always goes faster the second time," is my motto evolved after irretrievable data loss, garbled instructions, clients changing their minds, an essential part is discovered to be no longer available, etc.

Remembering this is some small comfort as you start completely over on a project that took a week and was lost when the server died the day before deadline.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 10:33 PM on March 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

"Embrace the suck."

Or, as posted on Reddit a few months ago, "Do the work. Be the prize."
posted by wenestvedt at 3:44 AM on April 1, 2016

"That's why they call it work and not play."
posted by heigh-hothederryo at 5:23 AM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

I don't know if it's motivation, exactly, but I had this wonderful coworker years ago who, when things got hairy, would sigh gently and say, "oh well, we're not here for love." 25 years on, I still say this to myself when things are hectic and it makes me chuckle and feel better.
posted by JanetLand at 7:40 AM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Suffer the pain of discipline

or

Suffer the pain of regret
posted by lalochezia at 9:19 AM on April 1, 2016 [4 favorites]

"You can stand anything for ten seconds at a time."

Kimmy Schmidt
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 9:23 AM on April 1, 2016 [3 favorites]

From my dad:

"I’m gonna get it done if it harelips every cow in Texas." (said he picked this up from an Army buddy)

"Life is simpler when you plow around the stump."

I always found this one motivating, even though one might not regard it as such on the face of it: “Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.”
posted by magstheaxe at 1:05 PM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

"If it was easy, everybody would be doing it."

I say this to my students when they complain about how hard their homework is. Occasionally, it works to remind them that you have to work to stay ahead of the crowd.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 7:29 AM on April 2, 2016