Paradox Series III: The Effort Paradox

I’ve heard there’s almost a “requirement to fail before one can succeed.” I also know it’s true, but I hate that it is true (maybe you do too?). To prove the point, we can look at five “famous successes” (people) who failed big before they succeeded – namely Abraham Lincoln, James Dyson, JK Rowling, Jay-Z and Colonel Sanders. Click here to view an article detailing their “success after failure(s)” by Tom Popomaronis.

Assuming you still don’t love the idea (like me) that we have this formula: [Significant Effort + Significant Failure = (May Lead to) Significant Success], let’s see what we can do with it in spite of not “loving it.” Why don’t we love it? For starters, we’re built not to love it or want it. Jeff Haden, in an article for Inc. Magazine wrote: “…Rationally, a cost-benefit analysis involving effort without reward naturally leads to trying something else. Emotionally, it feels bad to fail: why would you willingly enter another situation where you’re likely to feel bad about yourself?…Our brains are also wired that way; the anterior cingulate cortex tracks exertion — especially exertion that feels bad — and helps us decide whether to keep going, or give up. (You know that moment when a switch seems to flip and you’ve simply had enough? That’s your anterior cingulate cortex stepping in to say, ‘This sucks. Give up.’)”

So it’s natural for you and for me to avoid the feeling of failure, if not even the feeling of resistance. This avoidance of failure or wasted effort (at least the feeling of it) and of significant resistance is referred to as the “Principle of Least Effort.” Again, we know this is true. Haden writes further that we (like water, like animals) all tend to: “… naturally choose the easiest path, the path of least resistance…Avoiding effort when possible isn’t just something we learn, though…since energy is finite, we’re built to seek the greatest return for our effort bucks.” Effort bucks?

Yes, I like that analogy…and I’m afraid I really live by it, often using my “inner monologue” to ask questions like: What’s the point? Why bother? Is it worth the ask? (Sometimes, I keep going but sometimes, too many times, I settle for what the status quo is…and sadly, it costs me.)

Notably, there are at least two kinds of efforts: Mental (Cognitive) and Physical and we tend to approach them differently. Here’s the how: Jeff Haden unpacked how one scientific study found that most people describe cognitive effort as “an aversive experience to be avoided whenever possible.” Another study found that most people, when given the choice of two mental tasks, choose the easier task even if it results in lesser rewards, and are willing to accept fewer rewards to avoid having to try harder. He goes on to write that people were more likely to accept “exponentially-higher degrees of thermal stimuli” (the researchers applied heat to their forearms; gotta love scientists) in order to avoid mentally demanding tasks. They’d rather feel a burning sensation to avoid having to think?

Whoa!? Maybe the feeling of temporary pain, at least in the moment, seems like a better “path of least resistance” choice then what may feel like a permanent ‘pang’ of regret, or failure or loss that comes from the mental/cognitive effort?

Now that we have laid out how Jeff Haden cleverly states “the principle of least effort is definitely a thing,” let’s consider the paradoxical approach many people have when it comes to be willing to work really hard, both physically and mentally for a goal or outcome that is not guaranteed or even one that is “just for them” (and will give them no external reward from “the crowd” in their life.)

“The real price of everything, what everything really costs to the [person] who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it.”

— Adam Smith

From the National Library of Medicine, we find that Effort Defined is:

“Effort refers to the (1) subjective intensification of mental and/or physical activity in the service of meeting some goal. As such, it is the process that mediates between how well an organism can potentially perform on some task and how well they actually perform on that task. For example, a person might have the ability to perform algebra, but fail to solve simple algebra problems due to insufficient mental effort. Although related, (2) effort is not the same as motivation, which is a force that drives behavior by determining both a direction (e.g., goal) and the intensity or vigor with which this direction is pursued. (3) Effort refers to the intensity or amplitude of behavior, but does not refer to any specific goal.”

(1) Effort is a volitional, intentional process, something that organisms apply, and as such, it corresponds to what organisms are actively doing and not to what is passively happening to them…” Notice the areas that I’ve highlighted and numbered because they “jumped out” to me from the scientific definition…what jumped out for you?

• “Subjective intensification” and “a volitional, intentional process” → In other words, it is a choice.
• “Effort is not the same as motivation” → but often, our desire to complete something, achieve something is the motivator to “push through” (or ironically, the desire to avoid a difficult conversation or task or both will motivate us to “lie, hide and fake” to avoid it.) Thoughts on this from my perspective would include:
  • Why would we avoid a hard conversation? Simply, it’s likely because we haven’t decided the person we need to have the “hard conversation” with is “worth the effort.” We would rather sacrifice them and their value, to keep ourselves “safe, whole and untouched by potential pain, hard mental intensification” or loss of a friend.
  • How many times have we “avoided doing the hard task” by working really hard to come up with other “more important (but truly less important) and distracting tasks?” Especially when we know that we could do so we could avoid that one task? (If you’re a parent, a supervisor or leader, you’ve seen others doing it…when I look in the mirror, I also see someone who’s guilty of doing it too.)
• “Effort refers to the intensity or amplitude of behavior” → the power of our choice to do it or avoid it drives up our willingness to “make the effort” (or our willingness to avoid it).

The Effort Paradox | So, we seem to all hate “hard thinking, hard conversation” kinds of situations, tasks and similar right? But, we tend to do the opposite for other things. Why would a runner spend months of training for a marathon, just so they can drag themselves across a finish line and get a “trinket-level” finisher’s medal? Why do golfers spend thousands of dollars and many, many hours on practice, game improvement irons and PGA professional coaching…just so they can break 90 or maybe 85? (Those outcomes, for example, are equally hard to get and require much more effort than “an hour of hard thinking” or a hard conversation.)

Here’s where we uncover The Effort Paradox. If you consider the above, both examples require great effort as well as great “inputs” of sacrificed time and money (not to mention the opportunity cost of not doing other things, buying other things, etc.) So what is going on here? Psychologists suggest this: It’s only the completion or success of the task, the goal or the mission. It’s the effort that adds meaning to the task; and sometimes it has nothing to do with the outcome or result. The runner trains and does all the work simply because it requires effort.

Jeff Haden shares a great example of how we value that effort. He shared how, “A 2011 study published by Harvard Business School calls it the “Ikea Effect”: The idea that “labor alone can be sufficient to induce greater liking for the fruits of one’s labor,” and that people assign “significantly more value to objects they imagined, created, or assembled.” Or in simple terms, I think the dresser I put together is somehow worth more than one put together by an expert assembler.”

Now – all of that would seem to lead us back to this “age old question.” Why do some people keep going? Specifically, why do they (or why would you or I) keep going past the point of:

• “I don’t want to talk about this” or “I don’t want to think about that”
• Or “I don’t want to do that task, so I’ll do this little task or series of tasks instead”
• Or “the effort to do _________________, just isn’t worth it?”

“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.”  

– Mahatma Gandhi

Maybe the difference is driven from where they (or you and I) find or develop their definitions of “success” in that situation/context? Jeff Haden wrote, “While it sounds obvious, we all work hard for some sort of reward. Extrinsic rewards like money, prestige, or recognition. Intrinsic rewards like fulfillment, satisfaction, or self-worth…Effort should result in something. So we tend to reward ourselves for success. A revenue target. A promotion. Acclaim or accolades. The harder we worked, the more we tend to enjoy that outcome.”

Again, our brain chemistry plays a part here. Scientists know that the part of our “brain that processes positive outcomes gets more fired up when we achieve something as the result of higher effort than it does when we didn’t work as hard.” In other words, the “payoff is bigger.” With that in mind, can we switch our definition of success away from the finish line, the goal line and/or the bottom line (aka the Lag Measures in Four Disciplines of Execution) to a more focused view that the outcome is the better, more intentional effort itself?

In our business, we don’t score touchdowns, don’t cross finish lines and similar. Instead, we need to execute hospitality and service for our customer (or member) experience in a highly programmed and consistent manner. Generally speaking, the same on Tuesday at 9 am as on Wednesday at 3 pm or Saturday at 10 am…the same being at least good, if not close to great.

Maybe our finish line is just doing all the work we need to do to create and drive the consistency to deliver and execute the programming?

In a study published in Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, researchers found that rewarding yourself for effort instead of outcomes increases your preference for — and willingness (or your volition) to undertake — more demanding tasks in the future. In reality, it is a defined difference between having a fixed or a growth mindset.

Simply put, if you accept that you can’t get better, you can’t attain the skills or similar because you don’t have the talent, you’re in a fixed mindset and likely overly fixated on outcomes. Maybe even thinking, “If I fail, it’s because I’m not __________ enough (inserted the adjective).” And so, since the outcome is the reward, the brain signals the flag of surrender (and acceptance), otherwise known as the signal to stop trying, and give up.

However, If you’re willing to “move from I won’t to I’ll try” (Dan Rooney, PGA), you’re stepping into a growth mindset and thinking, “With a little more time, I’ll get it,” or, “That’s OK. I’ll give it another try.” When you’re in an intentional growth mindset, you’ll tend to focus on effort. If you can have this mindset, you can be like those who, as Jeff Haden wrote, “If they fail, that’s okay. They just need to keep trying. The effort, at least in part, is the reward, because that effort will lead to something.” Such a simple change in mindset, by intentional choice, can mean so much…because it is the difference between quitting/giving up or to keep trying.

For this coming year, when you are faced with a difficult choice to have the hard conversation or do the “hard things”, let the “Effort be the Reward.” Go from “I won’t to I’ll try” and reframe the finish line. In your operation, see the finish line as putting yourself (and/or your teammates) in the best position to succeed. Literally, a “when we win, I win” mindset. In this way, your effort can now be your reward, and your effort can be your motivation to keep going, keep improving, and keep working hard. (Not only that, you’ll feel better about yourself. Proof? A recent University of Toronto study found that “finding meaning in effort, not just outcomes, leads to feeling a greater sense of purpose, meaning, and overall life satisfaction.” Sounds like a payoff to me and frankly, that is why I love my job EVERY SINGLE DAY…even when it’s hard, when I have to get really early or when I have to say something hard to another PGA professional. The effort I’m making proves that “they’re worth the effort to me (and hopefully to them.”

In the next installment of this series, Paradox Series IV, we will look in depth at “The Wisdom Paradox”. If you have some insights and/or wins that you’d like to share with me after reading this article or if you have a “win” in negotiation, professional development or similar, please reach out to me when you can. If you are seeking any help with your career or similar, please click on the “Book an Appointment on Monte’s Calendar” link below.