Thinking is not hard work

It’s that time of year. Here in the Lehigh Valley, and everywhere in America, countless thousands of young people will or have graduated from high school or college.

Many, if not most of them will breathe a sigh of relief. Exams are over, and there is no more studying to be done.

Or is there?

I’m not sure when exactly it happens, but by the time most of us have made it through school, we’ve picked up the idea that thinking is work—hard work—and is therefore something to be avoided.

Where this starts is not difficult to figure out. Though well intentioned, how many times do teachers, especially grammar school ones, tell their students to “think hard”?

Study is something we have to work hard at, we are told, over and over, and the message is repeated when we’re told to “work hard and get good grades.”

It is true enough that assigned scholarly tasks, ones we may not have chosen ourselves and may have little interest in, do indeed have the flavor of “work”—that is to say, learning something one does not want to, but does need to, is usually a bit onerous. And it can be frustrating. After all, it seems effortless to learn skills we’re eager to acquire.

But so many of the things we must gain knowledge about, either to get along in the world, or to get those good marks that are the keys to a “good future” are not on the list of what is utterly fascinating to us personally.

After 12 or more years of the “thinking is hard work” message, it seems that for most people it sinks in, sadly.

The message that thinking is hard work to be avoided is echoed throughout our adult lives by many, many media messages, particularly advertising.

If you don’t believe me, think (gently, don’t “work” at it) about it. Can you name any product that advertises itself as being difficult to use, or actually requiring thought?

Most products, particularly “new and improved” ones, carry the advertising message that says, “It’s so easy, you don’t even have to think about it.” I even once saw an ad for dishwasher detergent in ‘pods’ when this inane product was first introduced that said as much. Quite literally, the message from the ditzy blonde hired to push this stupidity was: “This is so easy, I don’t even have to think about whether I’ve put in the right amount.”

Wait a minute!!! Has thinking become such a chore that determining the right amount of dishwashing detergent to put in the machine is difficult? Does throwing in a “pod” really improve the quality of most dishwasher owners’ lives that much, saving them from the dreaded prospect of actually thinking about what one is doing?

If so, in my humble opinion, that is downright pathetic.

Once upon a time, each of us was young, very young, and the world was a new, fascinating place that we discovered something about every day. While there were definitely frustrations, often leading to tantrums and tears, there were also moments of incredible insight, those “AHA!” moments. Maybe you even remember one of those moments.

Unfortunately, it is rare that usual school subjects lead to that kind of satisfaction (except for the class valedictorian), but that doesn’t mean real satisfaction is unattainable. The things that really interest us, if pursued, can and do provide a lasting contentment, as well as “AHA!” moments and lasting contentment, things those who eschew deep thought will never know.

“Easy” may not be so easy in the end. “Easy” never leads to insight and often leads to boredom and discontentment. “Easy” does not build skills; it makes one more dependent on the purveyor of whatever it is, usually at a more exorbitant price, that have been “improved” to be so easy you don’t even have to think about it. And if one gets too into “easy,” one may find oneself so out of the habit of thought, that

Most things in life that are worth having are not easy things—they require work. But when it comes to thinking—that is, thinking things through, thoroughly—if the subject matter is interesting, it doesn’t really feel that way unless we’ve decided that any and all thought is, indeed, work.

So whether you graduated last week, or last decade, it might just be time to shed the idea that thinking is hard work, and instead remember how exhilarating it was when we were small, before the message of “this isn’t supposed to be fun” sunk in.

After all, you’re out of school now, and no one is telling you what to study. But study something, everyone should—just make sure it’s something you like, and you’ll be an expert in that field before you know it. Not to mention smarter than nearly everyone else, because you’ll know once again, that thinking is not hard work, not when you’re thinking for yourself.
It’s exhilarating.