my yoda master once reiterated, we need to work smarter, not harder. or, play smarter, not harder. 🙂
when we get caught up in the frenzy of things we are doing – getting that product out of the door, playing a game of badminton or even just getting to the office to beat the clock, this principle is something that could guide us very well.
not all of us become experts in a skill but this does not necessarily mean we are going to be on the losing end. sometimes, it is a combination of being able to utilize your skills and the right tactic to win the game.
i have been playing badminton for over a year now and i still have a lot of facets in my game that i need to improve on. but from what i have observed so far, you cannot always go toe to toe with someone who has a strong smashing arm. you need to be able to adjust your game so that your opponent is not able to smash his/her way to winning the game. common sense, aye?
the same goes when trying to beat a deadline. if there is no focus on what really needs to get delivered for a specific sprint, we may end up with a full featured product that no one is really able to use. the same is true for a developer who attempts to fix a bug without really knowing the cause of the bug.
people need to get smart with how they deal with life. sometimes, it is really a matter of thinking what is the best approach to the current problem and working on it.
to put it in another way, paddling too hard does not necessarily mean you go forward 🙂
my take 