The harder thing

What could you set in motion if you did the harder thing this week? 

I don’t mean ‘hard’ as in setting off on an ultra-marathon, but that ‘thing’ you know is right for you to do, but it’s proving oh-so-difficult. 

It’s that thing in the back of your mind that’s important to you, but gets buried in ‘I don’t have time’ or other hesitations, more or less random. 

It’s the thing that, deep in your core, you want to do. Yet, every time you think of it, your body tenses up and shows the real reason for stalling: perhaps it’s fear or nervousness, the risk of feeling vulnerable or silly, the risk of failing or even succeeding. 

If you dare to look more closely, you’ll find the longing underneath that discomfort. 

It might be a conversation to grow an employee that brings worries about their reaction and how you’ll deal with it. It could be standing up for something you believe in that makes you feel vulnerable. Perhaps it’s doing something that through years of habit you simply haven’t done. Wearing colour. Talking to the neighbours. The harder thing may not objectively seem like a huge thing – but it's something that’s both challenging and wanting to get done. 

Stop for a moment and see the harder thing for what it is. It doesn’t stay in your mind just because it’s difficult. It stays there because to you, it matters.