Once upon a time, I had to take anxiety meds to go to any sort of social gatherings. I was afraid of the world and dreaded and feared…mostly everything.
I almost forget those days now, but I didn’t go from that version of myself to the current version of myself by winning some luck lottery or posting memes about how hard life is or how much the world was out to get me or saying “Must be nice” a gazillion times watching others do ‘hard’ things I wished I could do.
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The happiest and most confident people I know have one thing in common.
They do hard things, regularly. Willingly.
Whether it’s running, or training, or something within their profession, they step outside of their comfort zones on regular occasion and push themselves…hard.
For some that may be signing up for a race that’s longer than what they’ve done in the past.
For others that may be simply downloading the Couch to 5k app, and committing to getting moving after years of sedentary living.
For others yet, it could be simply buying a ten dollar pedometer and committing to being a person that walks with intention after a long period of being satisfied not moving at all.
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When I was running ultramarathons, I mostly hated running.
I had brief moments where it was ‘fun’, but for the most part, I loathed the training 99% of the time. The early wake ups, the longer and longer long run days, the time away from the things I was “supposed to be doing”, all of it. But every time I crossed the finish line after running up and over hills and trails and mountains for 6 or 12 hours, I saw the value in all the sacrifice and discomfort, and within a day of being back home, I’d sign up for another miserable day on the trails.
The growth I experienced during that four year stretch running longer and longer trail races in many ways made me a different person.
It doesn’t have to be ultramarathons.
In fact, my knees present a strong chance why for many, it probably shouldn’t be ultramarathons.
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For each person, “hard” is relative to their life experiences and what they’ve endured literally and figuratively.
Go take that OTF or F45 or Crossfit class that you’re terrified of.
Join that local run club.
Commit to giving something up for 30 days.
Sign up for that sprint tri.
Commit to learning that new language and being vulnerable practicing out loud in front of others.
Step up and volunteer to lead that team on that one project at work.
Coach your son or daughter’s team that is struggling for volunteers.
Start your day and end your day with a long walk, when it’d be easier to slump down on the couch and scroll.
Do the things that you’ve been secretly wanting to do, but afraid to follow through on.
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On the other side of the temporary discomfort and doubt is a whole new mindset, but *you have to earn it*.
Life is getting easier and easier, technology is making it so we barely have to move, food is getting more and more energy dense and easier to access, and we’re all growing more and more addicted to all of it.
We’re getting soft, and our bodies and minds are clearly showing the effects.
We’re addicted, depressed, overweight, doing the absolute bare minimum that life necessitates activity-wise, and in many ways we hold the miracle cure for all of these things but refuse to embrace it.
Imagine two generations from now where we’ll be at our current rate of going the wrong direction by most every health statistic imaginable.
*shudder*
Best way to not be part of those statistics?
Stop doing what most are doing.
We’re getting softer and softer and we’re loving every second of it.
For now.
Though a strong case could be made we’re actually not loving it, as evidenced by the way we pass our time (hello screentime), the temporary dopamine hits we seek and where we get them, how quickly we’re becoming addicted to all the wrong things, etc.
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Want to live longer, and experience a much higher quality of life every one of your years?
Do hard things, regularly.
Remember most of what we call ‘hard’ now was just how life was, not long ago at all.
Great news though and some hope amidst an otherwise very blunt post here….you will likely find your definition of ‘hard’ shifts rapidly as you prove to yourself how much you’re capable of, and your entire life, and how you view much of the world around you, will likely shift as well.
It starts with action.
Motivation will follow, and then momentum.
You can do hard things if you DECIDE you can.
Prove yourself right.
Literally zero to lose because even if you fail, you will have tried, and that will lead to trying again 
Signed,
The guy who’s actually pretty soft, but regularly does “hard” things
