Article

I tried hard, and I’m still trying hard

Published on Mar 9, 2025

Trying hard

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king —— Desiderius Erasmus
[what if I want to be a two-eyed man?]

I have always wondered how much I could change by trying hard.

I once hesitated, unsure if I could push myself further. What if trying hard meant seeing things differently and breaking limits I thought were impossible? It was exciting but also a little scary—because once I started, I couldn’t stop.

Guess what I discovered? I can change a lot by trying hard!

In 2024, I read What if you tried hard? by Aaron Francis, and it completely changed how I set and measure my goals. It made me realize that the bar for success is often much lower than I assumed, not just for my goals but also for my ambitions.

I follow a simple rule: First, I need to understand how low the bar is. Once I grasp that, I can push myself and keep pushing to get past it. A low bar doesn’t mean the journey will be easy—it just means it's possible.

source: giphy

The bar is low

When I say "the bar is low," I don’t mean achieving my goal will be easy. It doesn’t mean everyone will understand my plan or that I must do it alone. It means the journey will be difficult, and many people may not see the vision I have. It also means I need the right people—whether directly or indirectly—to help. Most importantly, I must break my goal into smaller, manageable parts that will eventually come together to form the whole.

So, is it hard or will it always be hard to achieve goals?

Yes and yes.

Great musicians do hard things.

Great entrepreneurs do hard things.

Great parents do hard things.

Great athletes do hard things.

Great politicians do hard things.

Great engineers do hard things.

I split goals into tiny bits. My goals are often in chunky sizes, but they are not necessarily meant to be executed in that chunky form, so I usually break them into smaller sizes.

I prioritize and move goals depending on resources. There’s no harm in postponing goals to later periods in my life; there’s no law that prevents this. Maybe that’s why I don’t believe in fixing goals with every year (AKA new year resolution); your resolution can happen anytime.

I seek help from people who have achieved similar goals. I ask for help a lot, but only if I need to. It is important to ask only when necessary so I am not seen as a bother.

Has trying hard always worked for me?

I wish!

I tried hard and still did not get the things I wanted. That sucked, and it wasn't fun, but it's fine since I split my goals into tiny bits. So whether or not the full chunky goal is achieved, I know I learnt a lot and even achieved some things.

What’s the failure rate?

Maybe 30% or a bit higher, but failure is part of progress. Even if I don’t succeed every time, each attempt moves me forward, making the journey worthwhile.

Maybe next, I will write about one of my many failures—like the time I dedicated months of effort to a project, only to see it collapse overnight. But even in that failure, I learned something valuable.