We Can Do Hard Things

I'm in the process of training my brain to believe that I can do hard things.

I’m doing this in my business when I learn a new skill and would MUCH rather walk away to do anything else (I see you, website design!), when I do a DIY house project (epoxy the basement floor), or choose to sit with a challenging emotion (fear, sadness).

It’s like a confidence boot camp for my brain.

My friend and colleague Alison Brock McGill was the first person who introduced this simple and profound statement to me: ‘Beautiful girl, you can do hard things.’

I had not realized it, but I had started to avoid hard things; to give up on what I wanted when the going got tough.

Doing hard things is how we get stronger. If I avoid hard things, I never give myself the chance to get stronger.

I have coaching to thank for these new shifts in my mindset and behavior: becoming aware of how my thoughts create my emotions and drive my behaviors.

To practice, I started in one area of my life: weight training. I used to absolutely dread hard workouts. I hated the extra time that it took away from other things that I wanted to be doing. I didn’t know what I was doing most of the time. I felt embarrassed and awkward. It was also just really hard. I’d have all sorts of thoughts leading up to a workout (“I don’t want to go. I’m too tired. I don’t feel like it. I need to do xyz instead.”)

Once (and, let’s be real – IF) I got myself to the gym, then my mind would think: “Oh my god. What time does this end? I hate this. I want to leave.”

Not only was it challenging on its own, but my mind was making the whole experience WAY worse.

But I kept at it. Slowly, I got stronger.

Now, I have eliminated most of my thought drama around working out. I just go. I even enjoy it sometimes (who IS this new person?)

For example, I’ll be holding a plank and, instead of hating the instructor, I’ll think to myself: “This is me doing something hard. This is the process of me getting stronger. I can do hard things.”

Where in your life have you noticed your mind wanting to talk you out doing something hard? What’s worked for you, to keep you at it?