Mar 27 2008
A Virtuous Woman: Diligence
Today’s virtue is diligence. Sounds like fun. Seriously, though–can we skip this one? It makes me think of things like hard work, persistence, and perseverance. My old friend Webster tells me that diligence is “constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body and mind.” Geez. Can’t a girl take a rest once in a while? It all just sounds so… tiring.
Diligence is probably second only to Temperance when I look at the virtues that are most challenging for me. Here’s the thing–I am a FABULOUS starter. One of the world’s best, I’d wager. There is absolutely nothing I love more than a new project. Take my writing, for example. I adore the initial planning and outlining phase when I can let my imagination run wild. I make charts and plans and maps and schematics. I do the same thing with training programs for running. I love doing the research and making a chart and setting up the program. Where it all falls apart is the uh… you know, the actual doing part. Yeah, I’m not so great at that. I get bored and lazy and distracted and, to be perfectly honest, I give up.
So what am I losing by indulging in Diligence’s evil twin, Sloth? I’m losing the pleasure of a job well done and the joy of finishing what I start. Even worse, I’m losing out on realizing my goals. “Constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken.” Not sexy, but probably the single most important key to getting what you want out of life. Forget about “The Secret.” Forget about the Law of Attraction. Forget about get-rich-quick schemes and fad diets and miracle cures. Success is all about “persistent exertion of body and mind”. Diligence.
I worry that we as a society are forgetting how to be diligent. Technology has made things so much easier for us. Why should we memorize facts for history class? We have Google to do that for us. Why should we learn to graph quadratic equations? We can use our computers for that. Why should we reform our diets and exercise diligently in order to lose weight? We can just take Alli or get gastric bypass surgery. I’m all for progress, don’t get me wrong, but is it costing us our work ethic?
What do you think? Where do you exercise or see diligence in your life? Where have you seen it slip away?
Table of contents for Virtues
Diligence - while you say that it sounds like hard work (I agree the word conjures up images of toiling away day after day) I think, perhaps diligence can also be viewed as a good thing. In your post - you mention the secret, laws of attraction and so forth (all based around the theory of metaphysics). These are about the idea that by ‘thinking’ we can conceivably alter our environment, positively or negatively we can bring into our lives or ‘attract’ the type of outcome we are searching for, however none of this is done in the blink of an eye.
Take for example a little bit ago you posted you were unhappy with your work situation. You decided to change the way you would view the situation (look at the positive and not the negative) asked for what you wanted out of it and received what you were looking for.
This did not necessarily happen overnight, it is something that is happening everyday, so is it really such a stretch to think that diligence is already a part of your life, of everybodys life? I think the difference is that when we don’t enjoy what we are doing/working towards then diligence is viewed as ‘work’ where as if we are enjoying ourselves we don’t think about it…it is just second nature, no matter how much work is required!
Love the virtues…you keep me thinking outside the box!
~K
I don’t know, diligence sounds okay to me. I figure I’m not so good at any of the others, so perhaps I better claim this one. I can be damn diligent when it comes to something I love, like writing. It is probably one of my best virtues–though some people would probably call it beating a dead horse.
Love this series!
Diligence is definitely something that’s hard to maintain — unless you really like what you’re doing. But sometimes we have to be diligent anyway, and that really sucks.
I have a diligence factor of zero. Period.