Doing Hard Things: An Unconventional Guide
How to navigate your reinvention with fear and action instead of planning, assessing, and personality profiles
(image by DALL·E 2024)
Reinvention means transforming into a new self, regardless of risks or others' opinions.
There’s no formula for it (although ChatGPT will give you one if you ask).
Ignore the conventional. Forget planning it all out, correlating personality assessments with 360 evaluations, blah blah.
Get into action.
A starting place is doing hard things.
By definition, easy things are the old you. Things you think you can’t do or are afraid to try are the reinvented you.
Here’s a unique guide to help you tackle hard tasks and improve.
Why Doing Hard Things is Important
Builds Resilience: Taking on hard tasks makes you stronger and better at handling stress.
Promotes Growth: You learn and grow most when you push yourself out of your comfort zone.
Boosts Confidence: Overcoming challenges makes you feel more confident.
Increases Grit: Doing hard things helps you stick with goals, even when it’s tough.
Enhances Problem-Solving Skills: Facing challenges improves your ability to solve problems.
Net: people who regularly do hard things make more money, live longer and healthier lives, and have better relationships than people who don’t.
What Exactly Do I Mean By “Hard Things”?
Challenges that are difficult and uncomfortable;
The odds of success are roughly 50/50 (the possibility of failure exists).
Example: if you haven’t exercised at all for 10 years, don’t set out to do a marathon in 6 weeks (success odds less than 50/50). Maybe a 5K is closer to 50/50.
Practical Steps: Unconventional Ways to Tackle Hard Things
No formulas, remember? These are examples, not presciptions.
1. Create a "Failure Resume"
List Your Failures: Write down times you didn’t succeed and what you learned from each one.
Analyze Your Mistakes: Why’d things jump the tracks?
Celebrate Your Failures: Share your failure resume with a friend or mentor. Celebrate the lessons learned and how they’ve made you stronger.
2. Use the "5-Minute Rule"
Start Small: Commit to doing the hard task for just five minutes. “Betcha can’t eat just one!” (free subscription for anyone who gets this reference).
Increase Gradually: If it’s not so bad after five minutes, keep going. Starting’s the hardest part.
Daily Practice: Do this every day. Soon, you’ll build a habit and the task won’t seem so hard anymore.
3. Make a "Reverse Bucket List"
List Hard Things You Avoid: Write down things you avoid because they’re hard or scary. This could be public speaking, exercising, or learning a new skill.
Set a Challenge: Choose one thing from the list each month to tackle. Facing these fears head-on builds courage.
Track Your Wins: Keep a journal of your successes. Reflect on how facing these challenges makes you feel more confident and capable.
4. Create an "Obstacle Map"
Identify Obstacles: Draw a map of the obstacles you face when doing hard things. This could be fear, lack of time, or not knowing where to start.
Plan Your Route: For each obstacle, brainstorm ways to overcome it. If fear is an obstacle, think about small steps to build confidence.
Visualize Success: Imagine navigating through your obstacle map. This makes the challenges less intimidating and more manageable.
5. Have a "Hard Things Party"
Gather Friends: Invite friends over for a “Hard Things Party.” Each person brings a task they’ve been avoiding.
Work Together: Spend time together tackling these tasks. Encourage each other and share tips.
Celebrate Accomplishments: End the party by celebrating what you’ve achieved. This makes doing hard things fun and rewarding.
Conclusion
Doing hard things is a powerful way to grow and reach your goals. The 5 steps above are illustrative…they’re examples.
Have you consciously decided to take on any hard things…just because?
What did you do?