The Truth About Doing Hard Things

16:18





Today I’m tired. Today I don’t feel like sitting down and writing a blog post. I’d much rather be sitting by a fan, drinking ice cold water and relaxing. As much as I would love to be the perfect blogger who is always ready with a post and has boundless energy for keeping up with things in the blogosphere, I’m not. Sometimes I just want to be lazy.

It’s ok to be lazy sometimes. Everyone needs quiet time to rest and recharge their batteries. Despite the world telling us that we always need to be busy, we need to schedule in time to sit still and just be. But equally, sometimes we need to stop being lazy and just do the hard things. It’s not easy. I’ve had so many times when I’ve wanted to put off writing a blog post or cleaning my desk for just one more day. But I was thinking about all the hard things I’ve done, all the times I’ve pushed myself to do something I really haven’t wanted to do and I realised something.

I have never regretted doing hard things.

I have never regretted taking two or more hours out of my day to practice the piano for my upcoming exam. I have never regretted finishing editing a uni assignment instead of messing around online. I have never regretted writing a blog post when I wanted to relax instead. Sure, I haven’t wanted to do these things, but I’ve never regretted doing them either.

You know what I have regretted? Wasting time on Facebook instead of working on my book. Going shopping instead of studying. Missing posting on my blog because I wanted to watch the TV instead of writing a post. I’ve regretted doing a whole heap of easy things that I chose to do instead of doing what really needed to be done.

Sometimes the hard things seem like too much trouble to do. The easy option is always so attractive. And sometimes it’s ok to take time out for yourself. Resting is important to. But when it comes to a choice between doing something you really need to or putting it off for another day, remember that you’re never going to regret the energy you put into doing the hard things. So if you’re having trouble finding motivation to do what needs to be done, ask yourself “What would I most regret not doing?”

Today I’m doing the hard thing and writing this blog post. What hard things are you doing?

Today’s post was inspired by browsing the amazing blog of James Clear. It’s got loads of tips for good habits, productivity, and health. You should definitely check it out.

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17 comments

  1. This is really inspiring. I'm always going to go here and read this now whenever I feel like doing something easy.

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    1. I'm so glad you found it inspiring. It was a very interesting thought to realise, that I don't actually regret giving time to hard things. I think that must be because we really do find them valuable. Like writing for example. It's not always easy to sit down and write, but it's so rewarding when we do.

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  2. Wow, this post is just...so truthful. I am exactly the same way, I tell myself that it's good to relax(which it is, but not all the time) instead of forcing myself to write but then I think back on my day and realize I could have gotten so much work done instead. And I regret it. But if I push myself for a couple hours every night to do my writing, sure I go to be bed even more exhausted but I'm also more content with myself and proud of myself for getting things done even though i didn't want to.

    It's almost a vicious circle if you think about it, sometimes you have to give yourself a break but then if you do it too often, you just get lazy!

    Lovely post, I'm glad you wrote it! =)

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  3. I'm really glad you found my post interesting. It's an idea that's been bouncing around in my head a lot. It's so hard to find that balance between being too busy and being too lazy. I think everyone feels better when they can look back at the day and say 'yes I did something that was really important to me.' It's funny how often the things that are most important to us seem to be the hardest things. I love to write, but it's often the hardest thing in the world to make myself do. I know I always regret not doing it though. Thanks for stopping to read my post!

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  4. This is such a beautiful post! Inspiring as well..
    There are times where I feel like giving up, but the thought that it's all worth it keeps me going.
    I'll think of your post when I feel down :)
    June
    The Journeys of My Beating Heart

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    1. That's probably the most important thing to remember, isn't it? No matter how hard it seems at the time, it's worth doing it. And that is an encouraging thought, isn't it?

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  5. This is really wonderful and really inspiring...I'm a huge procrastinator myself and it's hard for me to get up and do things a lot of the time, so I can definitely relate to this. Thanks so much for writing it!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by to read it. I'm a huge procrastinator too. We can fight the procrastination monster together.

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  6. I feel like you have a great point, and one I'm struggling with as I get stuck in my novel and feel like I've wasted my time and want to delete the file and be done with it. But the problem is sometimes doing hard things isn't satisfying. It's satisfying to read a blog post because I got something done. It's satisfying to watch a movie because I got to the end. And it's not satisfying to do homework, because there's more. And it's not satisfying to write a novel, because no matter how many drafts I write it's still going to suck somewhere and there's no amount of editing that can ever fix that.

    And I sort of hate to be the Debbie Downer on your lovely post, but I guess I say that stuff to illustrate how hard doing hard things are... Just because sometimes it feels like the hard things aren't worth doing today.

    So I guess you're teaching me today—and kudos to you for doing so, even if I hate doing the homework in your lesson. :/

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    1. That's so true. Hard things are so hard because often there doesn't seem to be an end to them. When do you get to say 'stop' with a book? When does the homework run out? That's all part of what makes these things so hard to even get started on. And I guess that's why it's so important to remember than no matter how unsatisfying it is to finish these things in comparison to doing a smaller (or big) task that we enjoy and that has an ending, at least we won't regret taking the time to do the hard things. It's not always fun, and it's not always satisfying, but it's worth it at least.

      I hate doing the homework too to be honest. I certainly don't have this down pat. We can work on this together.

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  7. There's a book called Do Hard Things that our youth group was obsessed over for a little while. XD great post! You make good points, and now I just have to get off my lazy butt and do things. XD

    Also, I nominated you for an award (yes, another one, lol. But it's a different one! hehe) if you're at all interested. :) http://rachelssecretscribblings.blogspot.ca/2014/11/best-blogging-buddies-award.html#comment-form

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    1. It's the getting up and doing stuff that's the hard bit, isn't it? I wrote this post and then totally failed at doing all the rest of the hard stuff I was supposed to do. Oops. Guess I need to keep working on this myself.

      Thanks so much for the nomination! I'll hop right over and check it out.

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  8. Oh my, this is so beautiful and inspiring! I've bookmarked this page and I'll definitely keep coming back whenever I need to be inspired. Thank you for sharing this! xx

    arushee // unadorned gifts

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  9. Thank you for stopping by to read it. I'm glad that this post inspired you. Thanks for coming to my blog, and for following. You made my day.

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  10. Aw. Great post Imogen. Lately, I've had to make myself post instead of go to bed, because even though I'm so tired from work, I desperately want to keep up with my blog! It's become very important to me over the past year. I think, though, afterwards you feel both relieved and proud that you did it even though it was hard. =] Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I think that we can be even prouder of the thinks that it was hard to do. It's never much fun when we're doing it, is it? But I always find it so worthwhile at the end. I'm glad you enjoyed my post.

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  11. Hey! Visiting from the GTW link-up. :)

    I agree with you that it's good to take time to rest, but keeping it at rest and not wasting time is sometimes a hard balance to find. I'm currently working on that, though. :)

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