Doing hard things.
It took time for me to realize that getting into a body of cold water everyday was not about the water at all. That it was about doing something that I don’t want to do. Doing things that are hard. Stepping into the discomfort and away from the instant gratification, the pleasure.
Think about it. Why would anyone want to by choice, immerse themselves in water a few degrees on average, above 0 degrees Celsius It’s cold. It’s uncomfortable. It’s psychological. It’s probably not where you want to be at that moment.
But the point is the lesson and the teaching. The teaching is that we can overcome the resistance in our lives by doing things that are unpleasant for us. To building an internal capacity to do hard things. It’s like building a muscle. A muscle of will, discipline and focus.
To take responsibility and ownership of our thoughts, and our actions. To move away from our biology of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. It teaches us grit and perseverance. It starts to shape us and mold us. It prepares us. It creates who we become - with intention.
These skills are transferable to all aspects of life. It helps with procrastination, hesitation and keeping your word. Most importantly keeping your word to yourself. Your contract and commitment to your growth and development. To setting one foot in front of the other and creating your path in life, for your life. It means that you are making choices and following through on those decisions. The little decisions become the big decisions in our lives.
By doing hard things. Things that we naturally do not want to do, we build integrity to our words and our actions. We begin to build character. Character from within. This journey from within then begins to permeate into the world and others around us.
We begin to infuse ourselves with drive, and getting things done. We become a lighthouse and a beacon for others and the darkness in the world. We become solid. Dependable. Trustworthy with our words and our actions.
We become a doer, as to a talker. We create. We inspire and we motivate. We become what we do. Every moment. Every day. Every breath. We move forward in our lives and our dreams.
We create purpose, knowing and understanding. We create these principles in our lives because we live them. We do them. We are them.
Do hard things in your life. Do things that make you uncomfortable. Do this and you will grow. When you grow you move towards becoming the person that you want to be. The person that you need to be in this life.
We become self-autolocalized. Individuated. We become trustworthy to ourselves, and then naturally to others. We begin to build our tribe. Our community and start to become the change in the world.