The Hard Things We Do Now Will Help Us Later

Hard things are put in our way for a reason.
Doing hard things strengthens and empowers us. Once we do something hard we can look back and say, "I did that. If I did that, then I can do this."
Hard things are hard. But I wouldn't trade them for easy things. Hard things callus and prepare us for what the future will bring. And it's during the hard things that we find our inner strength. Each of us has inner strength and there will be times when we will have to pull on it to help us through difficult times.
I went on Trek (a handcart pulling/pushing reenactment) and on the second day we talked a lot about inner strength. That was the day where we had what we call the Women's Pull. And, just like it sounds, all the girls pulled the wagons. And it was hard and tiring but it was worth it. And inspiring to hear about how everyone found their inner strength afterwards.

Tupac Shakur said, “I know it seems hard sometimes but remember one thing. Through every dark night, there's a bright day after that. So no matter how hard it get, stick your chest out, keep ya head up.... and handle it.”
Hard things are always worth fighting for.
And remember, you do have a support group. Family, friends, mentors. There are always people willing to help and there's someone out there that has either been in the same situation or something like it and would be happy to help.

You have to make the call you’re afraid to make.
You have to get up earlier than you want to get up.
You have to give more than you get in return right away.
You have to care more about others than they care about you.
You have to fight when you are already injured, bloody, and sore.
You have to feel unsure and insecure when playing it safe seems smarter.
You have to lead when no one else is following you yet.
You have to invest in yourself even though no one else is.
You have to look like a fool while you’re looking for answers you don’t have.
You have to grind out the details when it’s easier to shrug them off.
You have to deliver results when making excuses is an option.
You have to search for your own explanations even when you’re told to accept the “facts”.
You have to make mistakes and look like an idiot.
You have try and fail and try again.
You have to run faster even though you’re out of breath.
You have to be kind to people who have been cruel to you.
You have to meet deadlines that are unreasonable and deliver results that are unparalleled.
You have to be accountable for your actions even when things go wrong.
You have to keep moving towards where you want to be no matter what’s in front of you.

You have to do the hard things.

The things that no one else is doing. The things that scare you. The things that make you wonder how much longer you can hold on.
Those are the things that define you. Those are the things that make the difference between living a life of mediocrity or outrageous success.

The hard things are the easiest things to avoid.  To excuse away. To pretend like they don’t apply to you.

The simple truth about how ordinary people accomplish outrageous feats of success is that they do the hard things that smarter, wealthier, more qualified people don’t have the courage — or desperation — to do.
Do the hard things. You might be surprised at how amazing you really are.1

I've always liked this. It's not easy to hard things, obviously; their not called 'hard' for no reason! But I think that the harder it is, the more worth it the thing becomes.
 

So, what hard thing have you done?

--------------
1 You Have To Do The Hard Things by Dan Waldschmidt