The Convenient Truth About Hard Work

We as humans were designed to work.  We struggle, we adapt, and then we overcome.  When we do this on a consistent basis, we grow to greater and greater heights.  This can be one of the more impactful benefits of exercise. There’s an attitude of avoidance and excuses that comes with modern conveniences, and the culprit is ‘convenience’.  Nobody can do the work for you, but when you do, amazing things happen. 

It seems like the primary goal in technological advances is making life as easy as possible.  This feels like a good thing to many, but this could be the very thing leading to continued increases in suicide rates, poor mental health, and a lack of a sense of purpose.  With everything at our finger-tips, we have a plague of dopamine depletion, which is the hormone that gives us a sense of well-being and accomplishment when we work and complete a task.  

In a world of convenience, how do we choose “hard” and still get results?

Avoid convenience: walk to errands, do your own shopping, mow your own lawn,  take the stairs, or park farther away.  Small decisions lead to big changes.

Be comfortable being uncomfortable: place yourself in settings you lack confidence, learn new skills, and find a healthy level of discomfort, because that’s where growth happens.

Don’t fear failure: the most impactful lessons come from the heaviest failures.  When you answer a question incorrectly, make a mistake at work, or come in last in the competition, a deep sense of change is felt almost instantly.  So don’t fear failure, seek it, learn from it, and then go to the next level where more failures will happen, and you’ll be ready. 

Exercise: this is the definition of growth from discomfort.  Unforgiving, unavoidable, work.  It’s something no one can force on you, and it’s hard.  But that’s okay.  When you put your head down and show up, you adapt, you grow, and you feel accomplished.  Something no level of cosmetic surgery, pill, or other implement can truly give you. 

Do the work: Do. The. Work.  Don’t find an excuse, search for a work around, or not show up.  Life will always be busy, they’ll be an easier route, and we have the option to not get out of bed.  Take ownership, choose the hard path, and arrive with patience and confidence.

When we eliminate cycles of avoidance and convenience by implementing these mantras, accomplishment and unrelenting joy can be ours.  So, stop avoiding hard work, and see where it takes you.