Do you actually want things to be hard?

26 Mar 2025

There’s an instructional video from guitarist Joe Pass where he eloquently instructs the viewer: “Never play anything that’s hard. If it’s hard, don’t play it.” Joe Pass was a legendary jazz guitarist, known among other things for his astounding technical ability. He’s a virtuoso, as evidenced by his solo albums Virtuoso, Virtuoso No. 2, and Virtuoso No. 3. And let’s not forget: Virtuoso No. 4! How could he possibly achieve his fluency on the instrument by avoiding playing things that are hard?

The movie Whiplash is a story about an aspiring jazz drummer who works and practices so damn hard that his life falls apart. In a climactic scene, he takes a multi-minute drum solo in the style of Buddy Rich. Sweat pours off of him and onto his cymbals, his face strains, the bass drum looks like it’s legs are going to break. This wins him the approval of his abusive director—he’s finally done it. Was the music good? (No, it wasn’t!) Who cares, look at how hard he worked!

I think that many people have a desire to do things that are difficult. The signifiers that we are accomplished, or are doing “real” work, is evidenced by the challenges that we overcome, or maybe more so by the visible effort we exert to overcome them. Hard work is rewarded. It means we are good people, worthy of our position in life, or a better one. I wonder if this drive can lead us to create challenges where there don’t need to be, or have a quiet revulsion to ways of working that are less challenging. After all, nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened.

If we could do more with less toil, how would we feel if all that “hard work” that told us we were worthy just wasn’t necessary? What if the signs that we are working hard—long hours, furrowed brows, seriousness—were indicators that we should be seeking an easier route. Are we trying to work hard, or are we trying to get something done?