Do What’s Hard

I recently wrote a post that recommend you do what you find easy. Sometimes, however, you have to do what’s hard.

Tackle Tough Tasks First

Tackling something tough could mean doing your hardest tasks first—before you do anything else. Many people find this approach works well. It makes them more productive.

I know that if I accomplish the hard stuff early in the day, I feel great! This achievement frees my energy and attention for other tasks and makes me more productive. I feel less weighted down by the big or difficult jobs.

But when I tackle and accomplish something big early in the day, I have to make sure I don’t slack off. I have to keep my energy and focus up for the remainder of my work time.

This week I’ve been writing book proposals for some books I’d like to write. One is very different from the typical fare I publish. The other is a project I began 15 years also on a totally different topic. Neither of these proposals feels easy to produce. But I want the experience and the result that comes with them. I want a publisher to bring these works into the world and to know what it’s like for my books to transform lives on a new level.

So, I’m doing tackling the tough tasks…even though it means staying up late (while I’m still healing), giving up some free time, and moving through my insecurities.

Tackle Tough Situation

Now let’s talk about another type of “hard.” Sometimes you have to step out into the world in a way that feels tremendously difficult. Maybe whatever you have to do brings up fear or anxiety, or it makes you feel insecure, timid, or self-conscious.

Two weeks ago, I had to do something hard. I had to attend a five-day event along with about 200 other people, but I had to do it with my face stitched up, swollen and healing from a bike accident.

Let’s just say I didn’t look my best.

Not only that, my body was in pain. Just one week before this event I had gone head first over my bicycle handlebars while riding down a steep hill landing first on my shoulder and then on my face.

What I really wanted to do was sleep late, stay home in my jammies, keep my face covered in ointments, not talk or smile (which made my lip and face hurt), and generally rest and heal. I did not want to make my bruised body wake up at 5:30 in the morning and then sit through eight hour days in a freezing hotel ballroom.

But I wanted both the experience and the result that would come from forcing myself to do this difficult thing. (I wanted to become a Certified High Performance Coach.) And so I did it.

And I was glad I did. (Although I was totally exhausted by Friday night!)

I know we are told that many things in life are not supposed to be easy. Sometimes that’s true, but not always. I do believe that doing hard things pays off in most cases, though. If you avoid the things that are difficult, you’ll miss out on many meaningful and fulfilling accomplishments and experiences in life.

What about you? Do you do what’s hard? Do you do it first thing in the morning? Do you do it when it means showing up in the world?

Tell me in a comment below…