09/02/2023
I think one of the things I'm most grateful for in having a long history in athletics is learning that I could do hard things. Painful things that were worthwhile. Through this, I learned something critical ❤️ that not all painful and hard things should be avoided. If there's one thing that is very common in my office it is helping people realize that they can, and that they have to do things that are hard, even it their own histories have shown them that hard things are dangerous and bad. The issue here is not that people are inherently unwilling, it's that without a tremendous deal of practice doing hard things SAFELY, one will most certainly be avoidant. My advice is this, gain skill in doing hard things gradually over time, just as if you were a little kid learning a new sport or activity. The way that you safely gain skill sets and doing worthwhile hard things is slowly and gradually over time. Self-confidence, self-esteem, resiliency, and so much more are developed by doing hard things which builds tangible memories to pull from real life experiences where you have evidence that you can do difficult things. You can do hard things. And you have to.
