It was 2008 when two young brothers, Alex and Brett Harris, published a book entitled, Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations. If you have read the book, what are your feelings about the hard things concept? How many of us do you think are really willing to do hard things?
The Harris brothers’ book was a dissertation on the fallacy of adolescence and the need for modern teenagers to grow up and start doing things outside of their comfort zones. The idea has since been adapted by other authors and life coaches to encourage people to aspire to greatness.
The concept is not new. Throughout human history there have been periods in which people have had to endure great trial and tribulation just a survive. For centuries, people have been doing hard things to get through wars, plagues, financial collapses, etc.
What seems different nowadays is how we define hard things. A casual observation of modern society might reveal that we are a bit too soft. Could it be that much of what we consider hard in 2022 was run-of-the-mill stuff to our grandparents and great grandparents? And if so, how do we break out of our softness?
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Hard Things at Work
Reading the Harris book reveals a fundamental principle that escapes many: the hard things we can all do are right in front of is. They are normal things that present themselves in daily life. Take work, for example. There are hard things we can and should do during the daily grind.
The boss rides us and our first reaction is to lash out. Maybe we don’t speak while he’s standing there, but we are sure to talk about him behind his back. We make it a point to constantly complain about him to other employees. We even complain about him at home. All of that is easy.
The hard thing to do is look inward and see if we deserve the harsh treatment. Perhaps we aren’t doing our jobs the way we should. Maybe we aren’t giving the best effort. If looking inward revealed as much, the hard thing would be to straighten up and fly right.
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Hard Things at Home
Unless you live on a remote island, you interact with lots of people outside of work. You interact with your family and friends at home. You interact with your neighbors. In all these relationships, you will find hard things to do.
It is hard to be nice to your neighbor when he is playing his music too loudly. It is hard to say a kind word to your spouse when you feel like you are being taken for granted. It’s hard to discipline your kids even though you know that’s exactly what they need. But not doing the hard things only encourages those relationships to fall apart. If we want stronger relationships, we need to do the hard things to keep them strong.
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Being Authentic Is Hard
Sometimes, doing hard things means being true to yourself. It means being authentic regardless of the circumstances. That is the whole concept behind the Plurawl LatinX clothing brand. Plurawl’s owners can tell you that being authentic is hard. But it’s also worthwhile. When we live as our authentic selves and give others the freedom to do the same, we change the world around us for good.
How many of us are really willing to do hard things? In all likelihood, the number is far too low. Human beings like to take the easy way out. That’s why we so often fail to solve our problems.
