Embrace the Struggle

I was at a client meeting the other day. Everyone had narrow eyes and that look of intensity. There was a task force which needed to immediately be created to solve a massive problem. At one moment I took a step back and realized that all this negative energy was becoming an even bigger problem…

It’s natural to avoid struggle. Facing a challenge is tough work. Especially when at the start of the climb, the size of the mountain you are facing, completely dominates you. The sheer magnitude of the problem makes you want to avoid it at all costs.  This very mind-set is what crushes most people before they start. You have just added another 1000 meters of height to the mountain you would like to scale. Sound crazy right?

Let’s look at some negative outcomes of the problem you are trying to solve: you ship fewer products, the software package won’t be ready for another two weeks, and your angry customer gets even angrier. So what!?!?!? Is the business going bankrupt? Probably not. So let’s all take deep breath and embrace the struggle because I have a very important life lesson – you will have to struggle again in the future. And again. And again. And again….

Being blindly optimistic about every situation is crazy. Sometimes things just plain suck. But what can we take out of this? How can we learn from this? Is it possible to mentally make that peak 1000 meters smaller?

Embrace the struggle. Really get into it and love it. Challenge yourself! As with most climbs, at some point about 70% into the accent, you’ll look down and be amazed at how far you’ve come.

So let’s quit our jobs and go hiking 😉