Do Hard Things: Why?

“Do hard things.”

I hear that a lot lately. Actually, that message has probably been pointed at me all my life, but I only started hearing it “lately”.

My first instinct upon hearing those 3 words was, “why?”

What’s your first gut reaction?

Because my first question is “why?”, I pursued that question, and I have learned the answer. You probably already know it. You probably knew it at a relatively young age.

I didn’t. I had to learn it.

Here are some “hard things” I’ve done, in no particular order.
✅ Became a Private in Georgia’s state guard at 50.
✅ Started a business with someone I didn’t know doing something I knew nothing about before I knew anything about starting a business.
✅ Shut down a business because it ran out of cash.
✅ Shut down another business because it became economically unsustainable.
✅ Did 21 (and counting) Peachtree Road Races.
✅ Completed GSDF Search + Rescue training course.
✅ Completed “Northern Tier” High Adventure with 12 teenage boys.
✅ Rescued and adopted 13 animals.
✅ Laid to rest 9 adopted rescue animals.
✅ Walked my daughter down the aisle (hardest).

Anyone can do easy things. In fact, for most of my life, I typically chose the shortest distance between 2 points. Why would I choose to do hard things?!?

Well, honestly, sometimes we don’t choose to do them. We face them knowing we have to do them. And I will argue that people won’t do certain things until they have to. That starts with growing up.

▶️ We won’t move out until we have to.
▶️ We won’t pay our own way until we have to.
▶️ We won’t get a real job until we have to.
▶️ We won’t take responsibility until we have to.
▶️ We won’t admit our mistakes until we have to.
▶️ We won’t change life habits until we have to.
▶️ We won’t learn new skills until we have to.
▶️ We won’t do hard things until we have to.

And when we have to, we will. And then we choose to. Why?

Here’s why.

After you do the “hard thing(s)”, you realize that you *can* do them. You have confidence, if not swagger. And the next hard thing you face doesn’t really bother you as much. You’ve done worse. That doesn’t mean we don’t dread it or even fear it. But we know we can do it.

Yeah, it’s a hard thing, but you’ve done harder things, except walking your daughter down the aisle.

But even that, you know you can handle, because you’ve had to do really hard things, and you’ve even *chosen to do really hard things.

Choose to do hard things so that when you must do hard things, you can do them with confidence.

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done? I said above that mine was “walking my daughter down the aisle”, but that’s only half the story.

The hardest thing was making words come out of my mouth when I turned around to see her in her wedding gown for the “first look.”

I eventually found some words. Not sure if they were good words, since I don’t remember any of them, but I know I spoke.

And if I can speak in that situation, I can speak up anywhere, anytime, from my heart.