Choose To Do Hard Things
Learning to do hard things:
A few years ago I was trudging through a particularly chaotic season of life. We were transitioning from parenting one kid to two, my work was ramping up in intensity, and we had several other commitments and side projects underway. One day I heard a simple “philosophy for life” on a podcast that not only provided some much needed motivation….but completely reframed my mindset around doing hard things.
You should voluntarily and consistently choose to do something extremely difficult– something more challenging and scary than anything else going on in your life.
For whatever reason that mantra immediately resonated with me and I signed up for my first 50K trail run that day. At the time, it wasn’t even the physical training that I was most nervous about….it was the time commitment I was making within my already busy schedule.
What I learned and experienced over the next several months of training while leaning into this new “do hard things” was powerful.
Mental benefits of doing hard things:
I felt calmer. Much of my daily anxiousness and frustrations were “burnt away” during those hard training sessions. I could take a deep breath in the evenings and feel a sense of peace + ability to be present with my family.
I felt more in-control. I was choosing the hardest part of my day. After finishing my early morning training runs….I felt that nothing in my day (even the uncontrollable stuff like kids' tantrums) would likely be as difficult.
I felt inspired. There is a certain type of momentum that begins to build as you start crossing off “hard days” The spectrum of what’s possible in my life started to widen. “If I can do this- what’s next?” During long runs, I found myself thinking about dreams and goals that I had never thought of before.
Life is hard. Lean into something harder rather than chasing comfort and be surprised by the results. Go Far.