It’s too hard.
I’m not smart enough.
I’ll never learn this.
I’m just not cut out for this job.
Have you used those phrases? Think about the endeavors that you quit before you were successful. Were you really not smart enough, or did you give up too soon? Journal about your experiences with dashed dreams or projects that you gave up on in the past. What stopped you from trudging forward?
Things are almost always difficult before they are easy. There is a learning curve, and you have to be patient enough to get through it. Impatience is a big offender when it comes to ruining an opportunity for success. We all want success, and most of us want it right now. We’re not willing to wait.
If you want a true and lasting success, you have to be patient, and you have to be willing to learn new things. No one is immediately an expert. Embrace the opportunity to learn. It will eventually get easier, and you will find success if you are willing to be patient.
DAY
168
“To overcome difficulties is to experience the full delight of existence.”
— Arthur Schopenhauer
That’s right. The difficulties you face are gifts. When you face a roadblock on your journey and you find a way around it, that is when you get to experience the full delight of existence. Every difficulty you overcome is a small dose of success. It feels great. You have not really lived until you have had an opportunity to face a problem head on and find a way to resolve it.
Look at your difficulties in a different light today. Change them into opportunities to really live life to the fullest. No one gets through life without facing some challenges. How are you going to react to them when they show up? What would happen if you decided to welcome your difficulties?
You can whine and moan and wish that you didn’t have the problems you have, or you can choose a different route. Practice walking through your difficulties today knowing that they are offering you the chance to experience the full delight of existence. Find out what you can learn from your situation and how you can change. Come to the problem like a student who is eager and willing to discover new solutions.
Your reaction to difficulties is completely up to you. You will either choose to cause yourself more suffering by procrastinating, complaining, and wishing circumstances were different, or you will take steps to overcome your difficulties. You have the power to choose delight or misery. What will it be?
DAY
169
“The harder the nut, the sweeter the kernel.”
— Saying
Pam is a novelist. Her latest book caused her more problems than she could ever have imagined. None of her previous books had been so difficult to write. She almost threw it in the trash numerous times before it was complete. She gritted her teeth and pushed forward every day, even if she didn’t have much to show for her efforts sometimes. Eventually Pam finished the manuscript, and a big-time publisher snatched it up almost immediately. It was her sweetest victory.
When Pam was interviewed a year and a half later, she talked about how the book was her hardest project ever and her greatest reward. It was not just because it made it to The New York Times Best Seller list. It was because she struggled and wrestled with it from the day she started writing it. The entire project was “like pulling teeth,” as Pam liked to say. She would go for days without feeling like she made any progress at all, and then she would get a small glimmer of hope that gave her the strength to continue.
This was a victory for Pam, because she stuck it out. She ran the entire marathon, and that made her a success long before the publisher accepted her manuscript, long before the reviews, and years before she sold her millionth copy. She had an intense feeling of satisfaction, because she cracked that nut. She stuck out the hard days, and she finished.
How do you want to feel when you look back on your achievements? Do you want the satisfaction of having done everything you could do to finish the race? Or do you want to wonder if you quit before getting to the sweet kernel of success?
DAY
170
“No tree becomes rooted and sturdy unless many a wind assails it. For by its very tossing it tightens its grip and plants its roots more securely; the fragile trees are those that have grown in a sunny valley.”
— Seneca the Younger
Your fortitude develops through the storms you face in life. You don’t need to build character and spirit and drive if you will never be tested. But in this world you will most likely face a few tempests if you hang around long enough. Growing up in a sunny spot where nothing ever threatens you sounds nice, but it won’t give you the chance to build sturdy roots and find out exactly how strong you are. You must face difficult times and prove that you can weather the storm.
If you are at a place right now where you feel as though the winds are assailing you from all directions and you are battered and broken, don’t lose hope. The storms of life will strengthen you and allow you to grow firm in your convictions and the knowledge that you have the ability to endure and thrive.
If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
That question is asked by psychologists, reporters, and even potential bosses in interviews. What’s your answer? Your assignment today is to once again put your artists’ tools to work. Get out those colored pencils, crayons, or markers and draw yourself if you were a tree. Have you developed strong roots that allow you to stand firm against the wind, or are you frail and easily bent? What kind of tree do you want to be?
DAY
171
“The two great springs of life, Hope and Fear.”
— William Hazlitt
Hope and fear are two highly motivating factors. Which one rules your life?
Does fear motivate most of your decisions? It is an instinctual response to certain situations. If you are in a physically dangerous situation, then fear is a great natural response. For example, if a mugger tries to attack you, your fear instinct might help you to fight back or run faster than you ever have before. That primal intuition is valuable in fight or flight situations.
What about internal fears? Do you allow your mental fears to motivate your actions? Fear is useful if you’re being chased by a bear, but it might cause you to lapse into inaction when less-obvious factors are involved. What are your fears? List them in your journal today. Do you fear being promoted to a job where you have more responsibility? Do you fear talking in front of other people? Name your fears today.
Now let’s turn to hope. How does hope work in your life? Does it motivate you? What are you hopeful about today? Some people think of hope as a sort of vague idea, but it can be a very concrete reason to take action. What are your hopes? Do you hope you can find a new job? Do you hope that your kids will grow up safe and happy?
Look at your lists of hopes and fears, and work on crossing fears off your list and adding to your list of hopes. Hope has amazing power to motivate people. It is a positive force in this world that should not be underestimated. Fear is useful at times, too, but it should not be overestimated.