Why You Should Do Hard Things

Doing hard things has changed my life for the better. But it’s difficult to explain why. I mean, why would putting yourself through constant discomfort make you happy? It seems utterly contradictory.

Not doing hard things is being in the comfort zone, where all hopes and dreams go to die. Always there trying to persuade you to give in, give up and indulge in all of life’s easy ways. Today's world is filled with easy options, everything you do can be done in the most effortless way possible.

You may be wondering, if easy is always an option, why choose hard?

The Two Versions Of You

If you were to ask me now, if I want to get into a freezing cold ice bath first thing in the morning, I'd say no, but also yes.

'No' because I do NOT want to be outside, half naked and shivering. But yes because I know my day will go a lot better if I do. This is why I believe there are two versions of you, the version that seeks comfort and the version that seeks happiness, the problem is we sometimes think comfort will bring happiness, but this is completely wrong.

Have you ever had 1am motivation, set an early alarm and tell yourself that tomorrow is going to be the start of a new me. But when that alarm goes off you snooze and all of those promises go flying out of the window? Me too. That is the two versions of you, the one that knows what you should do and the one that does what you feel like doing.

Noticing when the 'feelings' version of you is talking, is a key part in the process of completely changing yourself. This version is very persuasive, it'll tell you things like you can have a day off because you've been so good the last couple of days, or that you don't need to quit drinking completely because you used to drink a lot more. I call this the inner b!tch, you call it whatever you want. But the inner b!tch will come up with some very convincing arguments, making it a lot harder to know when it's the one in charge.

Just make sure you catch the inner b!tch, and shut it up! Because being a slave to this version of you will keep you nice and warm, but will rid you of any decent chance of becoming a better version of yourself.

Want to know when the inner b!tch is talking? Notice what is going through your head first thing in the morning. It thrives when you're tired.

Hard Things Build Self-belief

I have previously written a blog on the importance of self-belief, so I will refrain from going too in depth about it. But it is an extremely important aspect of doing hard things so I think it needs to be discussed. We all want to believe in ourselves, and if we already do, we’d all like to have extra self belief if it were possible. But the thing is, it is possible, it just isn't easy. Building self belief is done by challenging yourself, it's built by giving yourself evidence to believe you can achieve your dreams. And this evidence can and does come from doing hard things.

Let's say there's a woman, we’ll call her Mary. Mary despises exercise, specifically running. When Mary talks to or even sees a runner she thinks “I could never do that” therefore identifying herself as someone who does not or can not do it. And let’s also say she is someone who wants to achieve something extremely difficult in her career, but lacks the belief necessary to even try to turn it into reality. Mary is able to create the missing self belief within her career by simply running. As diminishing one limiting belief starts to slowly diminish others. By proving herself wrong in one domain, she starts to believe she could do the same within others. 

Although exercising is a metaphor for doing hard things, it is in fact one of the most efficient forms of self inflicting discomfort due to the fact it can be done so easily plus it has many physical and mental benefits. This could also be done by taking ice baths, quitting smoking or drinking and even something like making the bed (If that's what is difficult for you at the moment).

It all depends on what we find difficult right now, but we can work our way up the ladder. But the more 'impossible' it is for us, the more impact it'll have when we complete it.

Achieving Your Goals

If you’re reading this, I'm going to assume you have a goal in mind, we all have at least one. I'm also going to assume the goal is difficult to achieve, as if it were not, it wouldn't necessarily be a worthwhile goal.

A time will come when doing the repetitive work that’s necessary to achieve it will become extremely difficult. That is, I believe, the crucial part in the process. Enduring this period is the only way to succeed. It is at this point you will be thankful you become so accustomed to the feeling of discomfort.

If you refuse to exercise, take an ice bath, study or anything that you don’t feel like doing, do you really think you will be able to persist through the friction of trying to achieve your goals?

This is why they put future marines through hell, it’s literally called hell week. They do this to prepare them for the worst, they understand that what they are preparing for is going to be extremely difficult and if they are unable to get through the training period they would most likely quit when it matters most. You don’t want that.

Maybe you don't want to become a marine, or even have any difficult goals in mind. That's fine, just replace the word 'goal' with life.

Life is difficult, and that's a fact. So if you have become too accustomed to the feeling of comfort, you will be more negatively impacted by one of life's surprise attacks. It's a better option to be prepared, not paranoid or suspicious, just prepared.

I believe choosing the easy way through life is a golden ticket to misery, and actively choosing to put oneself through discomfort is the necessary sacrifice to live a life worth living.

Discomfort is growth, not growing is dying, habitually being comfortable will slowly kill you. And doing hard things will allow you to become a better version of yourself each day.

Short term comfort - long term pain

Or short term discomfort - long term gain