Do What's Hard

Think about the achievements you have had throughout your life. I bet they were results from trying and hard times.

Some people say their best years would be college. Our minds are challenged in an extremely social and ideal environment.

In many workplaces, we struggle to challenge our employees and in turn, they only have extrinsic motivations to keep on working. This may have worked in a manufacturing period but will not be effective in the future where it is harder to measure production. People naturally go towards the challenging and where they can contribute value. When you do the hard things, you feel empowered to do more and even more challenging things.

It is no wonder why doctors go through extensive training. They struggle and learn tremendously from those experiences, driven by intrinsic or extrinsic motivations. They also gain respect for their colleagues and others within healthcare.

Often, the deepest friendships have gone through the best and worst of times. Struggle builds character and develops personalities.

Struggling builds appreciation and empathy. I've struggled through my weaknesses and now can offer others advice on how to overcome similar struggles; this is one of the best parts about passing through struggle. More often than not, someone else has been in a similar situation; for some odd reason, that makes things feel easier (sports example: Under 4 minute mile. Once thought impossible. Roger Bannister did it and then others followed shortly after).

I love the idea of struggling well (from Ray Dalio and his principles). There is a difference between struggling for survival and struggling in order to grow. I would say it is better to supply life's necessities like shelter, food, water, and insurance and have people find intrinsic motivation to develop and grow. This aligns with Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

It's not about the destination; it's about the journey.