The 'NOT SO' Subtle Art of Doing Difficult Things!

While we all know that growth is an outcome of the difficulties we conquer, we often look at it from a perspective of 'Hardship'. Through this article I am attempting to explore the ART of approaching difficult things.

I call it ART because like any other form of ART, this is also a beautiful balance of 'Being Gentle', 'Being Brave', 'Being Honest' and 'Being Graceful'.

Most of our generation has been brought up in the culture of HUSTLE and we now know that constantly pushing without assessing our limits, fatigue and exhaustion leaves us burnt out, unfulfilled and unhappy. That said, there are no shortcuts to success and the only way out is through. To truly master something, one needs to EXPERIENCE. I am not someone that approportionates experience with age or number of years, I believe that the quality of time spent experiencing and willingness to go beyond the 'bare minimum' can put someone ahead of conventional definitions. The readiness of individuals to identify and FACE difficult moments, instead of giving into the SAFE impulse of AVOIDING difficulties is what builds resilience. As they say, Bravery is not the lack of fear, it’s the ability to do something despite the presence of fear (something on these lines, anyway).

Experience does NOT come from WAITING; it comes from DOING!

Another important feature of successful people, businesses, countries and institutions is REDUCING TIME TO ACTION. One of my mentors would always tell me that things are always more difficult and scarier in our minds than the actual situation. The more we hold back from taking the leap, the more difficult it gets for us to get started. That delayed hobby, business idea, workshop, degree etc. because we have anticipated the difficulty in advance, creates a mental block that prevents us from actually getting things done. We tend to fear public failure so much that even our brightest ideas are locked up until one day we see someone else not only bringing them to life but excelling at it. They chose to fail, face the difficult things, learn from them, make mistakes, invest their time and grow. They also had more buffer to fail and reiterate because they started early without letting the possibility of difficult work bog them down. They chose to gamify their journey where every difficulty served as an opportunity to level up and NOT as a judgement about their shortcomings.

I heard Elizabeth Gilbert say something on the lines of "The purpose of ideas is to come to life. In case you choose not to act upon them, they will manifest through someone else". We are a medium to create things and every time we disregard an idea for the fear of difficulty, we deprive ourselves of a POSSIBILITY!

Some of the things that have helped me on my journey:

1. Exposure to little acts of bravery every single day: Deliberately introducing difficulty (during workouts, education, work etc.) so that I am able to normalize the presence of difficult moments without getting flustered every time I am faced with one.
2. Progressive overload: The only way to grow is by introducing increasing levels of difficulty in small, digestible dosages. I try this with my team as well, where based on their current development, I put them in situations (safely), where they are required to problem solve and face difficulties. Because confidence grows by OVERCOMING and NOT AVOIDANCE.
3. Action >> Overthinking: If you see a newbie learning to dive, you will notice that the longer they take to jump, the more they are deterred from taking the plunge. It is because, we tend to get into our own heads and our brain tries to protect us.
4. Kindness and self-compassion:?A differentiating factor between individuals that burnout and the ones that sustain, is this one key element. Anyone who has been following the Olympic gold medalist for gymnastics, Simone Biles, shall truly understand why important it is to rest, process, rejuvenate physically and mentally to be able grow and succeed safely.
5. Learn Increasing your surface area of luck: We often hear that person X is lucky to land opportunities, one needs to understand that EFFORT improves the surface area of luck. The more willing you are to enjoy difficult things, exploring unique solutions, putting yourself out there, and staying persistent, the better are your chances of being discovered, picked up for enterprising roles. Hence, saying yes to doing things that people are shying away from due to the effort or difficulty involved, will often land you in opportunities that are rewarding.

In the end, getting comfortable with the idea that 'It will be difficult before it gets easy' shall remain the best armors one builds in their growth journey.