Working hard in the wrong direction?

You know that feeling when you're working, putting in the hours, following all the "right" strategies, but still feel stuck?

I call that Tangled Hard Work.

Think of it like this:

Remember those wired earphones from a few years ago?

You'd put them in your pocket for just a few minutes.

And somehow, when you take them out again, they'd come out looking like they'd been through war.

The more frantically you'd try to untangle them, the worse it would get.

Each pull creates a new knot.

Each attempt to fix one tangle creates three more.

This is exactly what happens in life and in business when we're caught in Tangled Hard Work:

• Every "solution" creates two new problems

• Each step forward feels like three steps back

• The harder you push, the more resistance you face

The worst part?

You're not just tangled in actions and strategies.

You're tangled in thoughts and emotions:

"I must be missing something"
"Maybe I need to work even harder"
"Why does everyone else make it look so easy?"

Each thought creates another knot.

Each doubt adds another layer of complexity.

And slowly, your work becomes a web of scattered focus, endless to-do lists, and increasing pressure.

But here's what I discovered after getting nowhere with Tangled Hard Work:

Success isn't about pulling harder at the knots.

It's about finding the single thread that, when gently pulled, allows everything to untangle and flow.

I call this Aligned Work.

Think about water flowing downstream.

It doesn't force its path.

It doesn't struggle to move forward.

It simply finds the natural way through.

When you're in alignment:

• Actions flow in a clear direction

• Decisions untangle themselves

• Results come naturally

Your work day feels different.

No more dreading Monday mornings.

No more questioning if you're doing enough.

No more pushing through endless resistance.

Instead, you wake up with clarity about your next move.

My own breakthrough came when I realized:

The experience of “tangledness” isn’t in the work itself.

They're in how I approach it.

Because conventional approach tells us:

• Move faster

• Push harder

• Force it to work

But I've found the opposite to be true:

Less force creates more flow.

I experienced this just a few weeks ago.

I caught myself resisting the work I needed to do.

The feeling of resistance is my indicator that I’m starting to come from Tangled Hard Work.

Instead of doing the work, I found myself:

• Scrolling through reels

• Binge eating to distract myself

• Watching endless Youtube videos

Past Zach would have wanted to power through and say, “Enough! Get your butt off the couch and get to work already!”

But this time was different. I recognized the pattern of being tangled.

So, instead of forcing myself to work harder and push through it, I used an Emotional Tool to untangle myself.

As a result?

The resistance dissolved.

I felt untangled and light.

The excitement to work returned and everything started to flow again.

That’s when I knew for sure: Everything shifts when you stop forcing yourself to untangle everything at once and focus on finding that one clear thread of alignment.

Success then flows not from force but from clarity.

Not from pressure but from alignment.

Not from tangled effort but from focused flow.

𝘼𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠. 𝙀𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨.
Zach

P.S. I’m launching a New Year Promo on Monday called Momentum Accelerator, where our goal is to help you add $2K/ month to your income in 2025.

We do this by building momentum in your business within 4 weeks and removing the mental and emotional baggage holding you back using Emotional Tools.

Reply “Momentum” if you'd like to see the details ahead of everyone else.