When I was young my dad gave me quite a few Herculean tasks. They were epic in size, labor and time. They also shaped me into the man I am today.
Throughout high school and college my coaches designed grueling workouts, challenges, and tests, that in the moment were torture, but in reflection steeled me and trained me for adversity.
The young mind has trouble seeing beyond the moment, difficultly seeing the purpose, and unfortunately allows their emotional response to distract and hinder. The good coach steps up and offers a new perspective.
Looking back, I am so glad I was “forced” to do hard things. I see now how they prepared me for other challenges much later in my life, in completely different areas. The sprints and ladder drills prepared me for adversity decades later. I learned patience, tenacity, fortitude, endurance, teamwork, greater good, service, and the ability to train myself to push past, way past, the moment of surrender.
Doing hard things matter.
If you want to get good at quitting, practice quitting. If you want to build tenacity, practice not giving up.
You’re most likely not going to choose hard things as a youth, nor as an adult. Some do, but most don’t.
Netflix, Cheetos, and the couch are screaming your name and welcoming you to some hours of leisure and fun.
The weight room, your running shoes, and the yoga mat whisper your name and promise only to test you.
The character traits you build in both are transferable to all other actions.
Why didn’t you start that project or finish? You have most likely practiced not starting and finishing.
We need people in our lives that challenge us. We need to challenge others. These challenges don’t necessarily need to be public and formal. I am challenged when I sit on my couch and see a runner go by the window. It gets me up off my butt. When I see a colleague publish, I return to the keyboard. And on and on.
To those who are doing hard things, thank you!
To the rest of us, now is a good time to start.
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