Category: Doing What’s Hard

Today, a friend and I ran 4 miles.

At the end, she reported that we averaged 8:50ish per mile and said, “Anything sub 9 is good.”

I didn’t say it then, but after thinking about it, I’d like to say next time, “Anything done is good.”

Put too much pressure on “sub 9” and you might skip runs altogether when sore or exhausted.

Better to let done be the primary metric you track and allow room for grace when it’s needed.

Because often… grace is needed. And those who can give it are the ones who truly stay on track.

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P.s. If staying consistent with positive habits is hard for you (like exercising regularly), stay tuned. My NEW guide is in its final stages of completion…!

Writing every day is hard.

Not knowing what I think and living without clarity is hard.

One of them leads to far more difficulty and challenge than the other.

There is no easy-only option… only hard now and compounded hard later.

Understanding this is what fuels me to keep filling up these blank pages with words.

And understanding this might fuel you to reconsider some of the hard now options in your life, too.

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P.s. Here are some of the other reasons why I write every day (and have for 1,200+ days).

A student of mine returned to martial arts class yesterday after having suffered from a rough few days of food poisoning.

Having been there, I know that coming back from this is no joke.

After the class concluded, he pulled me to the side and made a comment that I thought was worth sharing.

He said, “When I came to the school, I was at a 2 [out of 10]. I was texting my wife telling her how rough I felt and how I didn’t think I’d make it to class. After an hour or two I felt more like a 3. By the time class came around, I felt like a 4. Once I was in class I was a 5. And when it was over, I was a solid 6 or 7.”

I’ve written about this before and this is no small insight.

The byproduct of doing hard things is feeling better—a bump up on the feeling scale closer to “10.” Avoiding the hard things (or succumbing to excuses like, “I’ll do it when I’m a 10”), leaves you feeling worse or, best case, keeps you sulking at the number you started at.

Don’t get it twisted: we don’t do hard things when we’re at a 10—we do hard things to get to a 10 (or at least closer to it).

It would be easy for me to head over to ChatGPT, GPT-4, or Bard and ask this A.I. assistant to write a blog post for me using all of the past 1,200+ articles I’ve written as context.

And I’m sure it’d be pretty damn good, too.

But, getting an instant article based on all of my past writings isn’t the point.

The point is to sweat. To reflect. To poke around. To prod. To sigh. To grunt. To take a stab. To bleed.

The point is to play the game. Not have a game simulated at the speed of light leaving you only with the final score.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of exciting tasks that A.I. can do that’ll save us a ton of time.

But creative pursuits, shouldn’t be one of them.

More time to be able to spend in creative pursuits should be the most exciting prospect of the utility and application of A.I.

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Question: have you utilized A.I. chatbots in a way that saved you a ton of time in your life yet? If so, how?

The more comfortable you can get with entering into uncomfortable physical challenges… The more comfortable your body will become.

The more comfortable you can get with entering into uncomfortable feelings/emotions… The more comfortable your mental health will become.

The more comfortable you can get with entering into uncomfortable conversations… The more comfortable your relationships will become.

The more comfortable you can get with entering into uncomfortable solitude/stillness… The more comfortable your spirit will become.

And the same is true with how comfortable you can get with entering into uncomfortable (appropriate) situations in general… The more comfortable your life will become.

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P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

It’s in recognizing that I am imperfect that the foundation of my practice is formed.

• If I don’t choose exercise… I know I’ll choose gluttony.
• If I don’t choose reading… I know I’ll default to screen time.
• If I don’t choose writing… I know I’ll excuse my poor thinking.
• If I don’t choose sleeping… I know I’ll lean on caffeine.
• If I don’t choose courage… I know I’ll find clever ways to hide.

What fuels my daily practice isn’t some special force. It’s precisely the knowing that I’m not special—that I am no more immune to the temptations of the world than others—that fuels me.

I know for a fact that if I don’t make time for the things I listed above… I’ll undoubtedly choose what’s most appealing to my lazy/ ignorant/ unclear/ tired/ fearful self.

I know this because I’ve lived it. And because I’ve lived it and have felt deeply the long-term consequences of my many imperfect decisions… I am able to see more clearly in the now and iterate towards better.

Never perfect is the goal. Always improving is the path. Not as imperfect as before is the winning metric.

…And that’s the foundation that I know I can keep building on.

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P.s. If you like that I choose writing… you can support my future work by grabbing me a coffee here. :)