When is the last time you wanted to quit something? When something was so hard or so painful, that you wanted to just give up?
Not too long ago when I was hiking up to the highest peak in the contiguous United States I ran into two major obstacles.
The first is that in those conditions it’s hard to talk. The below freezing temperatures requires face masks, and the elevation makes it difficult to speak even in small sentences due to shortness of breath. When I could get a few sentences out, my neighbor Mike couldn’t hear anyway because the trail is mostly on the side of a cliff which forces you to walk single file.
That meant 18 hours of hiking in one day, where I had a lot of time to think. Can you guess what a popular thought was?
“This is hard.”
I’m sure you can relate. Do you ever have that thought while in a tough workout, or during Thanksgiving at your in-laws?
And it’s a completely natural thought to have. The truth is, I live a pretty soft life that is completely different from the unforgiving granite mountain peak of Mount Whitney.
I have a nice house in a great neighborhood. I have two sweet little girls, a trusty old dog, and a smoking hot wife.
So, why put myself through all that discomfort? Is the view from the top really that good?
The fact is, I did it because it was hard. Because I wanted to challenge myself. I wanted to go do something that was out of my comfort zone.
Every time I had that thought - this is hard - I didn't push it out and lie to myself saying it was easy. Instead I made sure to follow it with this thought.
“Good. I’m glad it’s hard. Hell yeah. That’s why I’m doing this. If it was easy, what’s the point? If it was easy, everyone would do it. If it was easy, it would be boring and a waste of time.”
What is your challenge that makes you want to quit? Is it in a hard workout? Is it when you really want to cheat on your diet and eat that reese’s candy out of your kids halloween bag?
Good. Be happy for the challenge. What an opportunity! You can prove to yourself that it is YOUR choice. That you are up to the challenge.
Look around. There is a reason why people are out of shape, overweight, and having health issues. They are currently not willing to do the hard thing. To do what needs to be done. To persevere when they want to quit.
When it gets challenging, don’t get discouraged. Get encouraged. That’s when you know you’re on the right path.
You can’t make a change without a challenge.
Think what you’re up against is hard? Recording artist Mike Posner just finished his walk across the United States. In 5 months he walked from having two feet in the ocean by New York to diving head first into the Pacific Ocean by Los Angeles.
He left himself a recorded message before he began that included this: “I wish you remember this is what you wanted. I understand intellectually, there are going to be terrible moments on this journey where I want to give up or my body hurts. Where I’m thinking - why the heck would I choose to do this, this was so stupid. And the reason you chose to do it is to feel what you’re feeling right now, and decide to KEEP GOING.”
Instead of getting down on yourself. Remember that it’s OK for things to be hard. But it’s not OK to quit. You have the opportunity to prove to yourself that you can do it.
And if you quit something yesterday, don’t dwell on it. Move on. That’s not the end. Take the next difficulty and make that your opportunity.
I’d love it if you commented below with any thoughts or concerns.
Keep Going,
Danny Lehr
P.S. If you are burning to know my second major challenge - I had a really tight hip flexor that started irritating me about a mile in. So, I had to step up mostly using my other leg for the next 21 miles...which got a little old.