Thomas Edison supposedly said "The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work."
When I read that I picture HEAVY labor. Like digging a ditch, or building a fence.
But maybe it's deeper than that:
I often conflate HARD work and FAST work.
I don't think that's so uncommon. We live in a society (at least here in America) that for a hundred+ years has prized the ability to work quickly over just about everything else.
The person who could make the most widgets in a day won!
I also equate hard work with sweat and physical labor. (Is this a uniquely American thing? Perhaps.)
Like if I'm not physically exhausted and didn't sweat a bunch while I was doing it, was it hard work? Hell, was it even WORK at all?!
But:
Hard work doesn't actually have to move QUICKLY or be SWEATY.
Hard work can also be mentally, or perhaps even emotionally difficult. I know therapists who tell me they're exhausted at the end of the day. Even though they sat in a chair the whole time!
Here's the thing:
In truth "Hard work" is a very nuanced idea. The most important thing for you is to identify what SPECIFICALLY hard work looks like with the goals YOU want to accomplish.
Because if you're not careful it is all too easy to put a ton of effort into things that just won't matter.