It was literally freezing cold this morning at 6:45 when I went out for my run. My knee was aching a it and that one hill on my loop is a monster! The cold air burns a bit more in my lungs as my legs churn slowly up the incline. Whenever I talk about morning runs, triathlons, ice baths or the like, a large percentage of people say silently or aloud “no thanks!” It’s not that they can’t do those things. They choose not to and that’s ok. They may be choosing the “other hard.”
One of the reasons why we choose not to do things is that they are “hard.” Getting up early to workout, getting the grades required for acceptance into Harvard, becoming a neurosurgeon, winning a State Championship, etc. are all difficult in their own right. None of them are impossible but they require a momentary or consistent choice to do the “hard” thing. Most people choose not do them and that is ok. Often, I think we’re slightly blind to the “other hard.”
Recently, something was drawn to my attention. The choice not to do the hard thing or even go to the other extreme and do the easy, results in consequences. The results of choosing the easy, often lead to the other hard. Not working out regularly, leads health issues and poor mental states. A lack of study or cheating leads to a lack of mental capability that is found out eventually. Half effort in practice leads to disappointing results on the field and sense of opportunity left on the table.
Doing the hard thing up front, does not guarantee the results that you’re after. Nothing in life is guaranteed. Nor does the shunning of the hard upfront necessarily lead to catastrophic results. There is no 100% cause effect relationship. However, the human animal was built to endure hard things and we have throughout our history. That’s how we got to this point in our development as a species. Now that the hard things are no longer thrust upon us daily, we must choose to seek them out or not. When we do hard things, we tend to feel good about ourselves and that’s a big part of the equation that’s missing for people. They want things to be easy but then feel slightly empty or disappointed by the results. The other hard is often invisible which makes it more sinister. The initial hard is honest and upfront about what it is.
This is not a cry for everyone to live a Spartan lifestyle and forego every opportunity to enjoy life. It’s a call for clarity and responsibility. Your choices are yours to make and consequences come with them. Walk a path that you believe in and can be proud of when the consequences arrive.
Huryk Unlimited 