Do Hard Things
If it’s humanly possible, you can do it too.
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“Not to assume it’s impossible because you find it hard. But to recognize that if it’s humanly possible, you can do it too.” - Marcus Aurelius
It is good to have an existential crisis. One thing I learned to ask myself many years ago is, What would I be doing with my life if I had all the money in the world?
This question prompts me to dig deeper. It forces me to ask what would be the point of working, of waking up early on a Monday, of keeping a schedule, and- most importantly- of doing hard things. Clearly, with limitless wealth, there is nothing material you can work for that you don’t already possess. So, why do anything at all?
Fyodor Dostoyevsky provides a haunting answer. He suggests that if you gave a human a perfect utopia- economic prosperity, endless food, nothing to do but sleep and eat- we would destroy it out of sheer boredom. We would create chaos just to prove we’re not “piano keys” played by the laws of nature. Deep down, we do hard things to prove we have free will. We choose the struggle to verify that we’re actually alive.
History warns us of this, too. The Roman Empire didn’t fall when it was fighting for its life; it fell when it became too comfortable. It’s said that Rome began its true decline the moment they finally defeated their most formidable enemy, Hannibal. As long as Hannibal was at the gates, Rome was disciplined, united, and strong. Without the “hard thing” to push against, they decayed into luxury and lethargy. They eventually built statues of Hannibal, perhaps realizing too late that the enemy who almost destroyed them was actually the force that made them great.
Now, after lots of introspection, I finally understand why people run marathons.
There is a point in a race where you question your sanity. You’re running past the point of benefit; you’re accumulating stress and cortisol. There’s no grand prize. Maybe no one is even cheering for you- or worse, if they are, they might start pissing you off because you want to focus on the pain as the salvation to your suffering. You could have done a simple 20-minute home workout and this hell would have been over.
So why? Why do we still yearn to do it? Why do we get the urge to climb another mountain when we could just chill at home?
It brings to mind the Myth of Sisyphus. Albert Camus imagined Sisyphus condemned to roll a boulder up a hill for eternity, only to watch it roll back down. It’s a hopeless, absurd task. Yet, Camus argues that Sisyphus is not miserable. The voluntary choice to go back for the boulder, without giving in to despair- is where his dignity lies. “The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart,” Camus wrote. “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
We do hard things because it’s who we are. Because we can. Because why not? Why not see how far we can run, how many skills we can accumulate, how well we can practice at the highest level, how much we can lift, how long we can stay without food, how much power we can accumulate, how many people we can influence. Because if not us, then who? If not now, then when? It’s never about glory, it’s about pushing the limits, overcoming setbacks, defying the impossible- inherently driven to do extraordinary things. As Musonius Rufus adds, “Since every man dies, it is better to die with distinction than to live long.”
It would be nice to keep a smug smile in the background and do nothing. But, if you’re anything like me, something will always whisper that you’re missing out on a glorious life. Whoever I am in awe of could as well be me. It was Marcus Aurelius who encouraged us, “Not to assume it’s impossible because you find it hard. But to recognize that if it’s humanly possible, you can do it too.”
I can either be in the hell of stagnation or the hell of active pursuit- living in my true nature- of adventure, of daring, of becoming- rather than what is merely comfortable. At least one is fun. I know that as the years progress, it’s overcoming the struggle I’ll look back at and smile in pride. Not the moments I wasted in procrastination, in just making it through the day, in just going through the motions. I won’t remember any of that.
However, for this to work, you have to be all in. You must be willing to be spent across all the domains you’ve chosen. That’s why you can’t, as Bukowski said, just try. You can’t do it half-heartedly. You can’t do it today and then skip two days. Inconsistency is the worst because you’re living lesser than you could be, trying to smother that potential with a bit of work, leaving you in perpetual disappointment because you never get to the exciting cycle of positive returns.
So you better be ready to challenge yourself every day. Otherwise, there’s no point in doing any of it.
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P.P.S: Most people loved the series on How to Deepen Your Friendships, Part I, Part II & Part III. Also check out the practical entries on How To Deal With Toxic People, How to Process & Overcome Grief & How to Prevent and Overcome Burnout. Happy reading!
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I really enjoyed the short piece – thank you for highlighting how important is for us to focus and do the things that are hard – even scare us – so that we can feel human again.
Comfort sedates, but struggle awakens.
We do hard things not for reward, but to prove we are free, alive, and unfinished.
Meaning is not found in ease, but in chosen difficulty.
To avoid the climb is stagnation; to embrace it is dignity.
The struggle isn’t the cost of life it is life.