Why You Should Take the Hard Road
Over time the easy road will become hard, and the hard road will become easy.
Do you know this one person, the one that was popular in high school, the one that never missed a party, the one that smoked, drank, and burnt the candle on both sides?
I know one particular guy, let’s call him Jeff.
Everything seemed to come easy to Jeff.
He went partying, got drunk, and still managed to play a decent soccer game the next day.
As you can imagine, people liked Jeff.
He was fun to be around, and he lived like there was no tomorrow.
Fifteen years later, taking the easy road compounded for Jeff. He looks at least ten years older than he is; he still lives in his mom’s basement, and as far as I can tell, he hates his life.
This got me thinking, is it possible that the road gets easier over time and the easy road harder?
What is the hard road?
Do Not Go Where The Path May Lead; Go Instead Where There Is No Path And Leave A Trail.
The hard road is often not what feels great at the moment, but what will lead to success in the long run.
The shortest path between two points is a straight line.
Unfortunately, it is also often the most challenging path.
Not because of the distance but because of the obstacles you face along the way. However, taking a detour not only takes you longer, but there’s a significant chance you get sidetracked.
- The hard road is reading books every day instead of watching TV.
- The hard road is subscribing to an online course and go through it. The hard road is committing to a workout routine and follows through.
The hard road isn’t glorious.
But the hard road leads you toward your dreams.
Do you think Bill Gates enjoyed every hour of programming when he went for 15 hours straight? I don’t think so, but I’m sure he loves the result.
Sometimes you just have to be heard on yourself to reap the benefits afterward.
Five reasons to take the hard road
1. You waste time looking for shortcuts
Looking for shortcuts can often be a total waste of your time.
Whole websites are dedicated to delivering hacks or discussing possible shortcuts to health wealth and success.
There’s nothing wrong with doing things elegantly and efficiently, but it becomes a problem when looking for shortcuts takes away time you have to put in the work.
I know there’s the famous saying of spending time sharpening your ax before chopping down a tree. But what happens if you spend all day sharpening your ax? When you’re finally ready, it’s already dark, and you cut yourself in the foot because you don’t see the tree anymore. You probably won’t be a light a fire anymore, so maybe you will get eaten by a bear or something.
What should you do instead?
I would always try to do as many small experiments as possible. Do something, learn from it, repeat it.
Between learning and repeating is the moment you can go and look for shortcuts and hacks specific to the problem on hand. This way, you make sure you define the problem correctly before looking for alternatives.
It’s always better to do something and learn from it instead of getting stuck in analysis paralysis.
2. You miss the strengthening part
Did you ever try to grow your bicep?
I’ve spent a good part of my 20s trying to make my muscles grow.
And you know what? Your body loves shortcuts.
If you want to lift a weight, your body tries to lift the weight in the most efficient way possible. To do so, he will employ strong muscles like the back and the hips to assist with the lift. However, if you want to bicep to grow, you have to put your arm in a position where it has no help from other muscles, so the bicep has to do all the work.
Only by taking the hard road and doing all the work by itself, the bicep will eventually grow.
The same thing is often true in life.
If you always take the easy road, you miss out on many opportunities to grow. Sometimes you need pain to grow. You must adapt to get stronger; this is how you learn; this is how you grow, and this is how you will rise to the top.
3. What do you do when you are on top?
Did you ever achieve something only to realize nothing has changed?
We often chase a specific goal or outcome, but we miss seeing that it’s the path towards our goal, which is bringing us fulfillment, making us stronger and defines us.
By looking for a more comfortable and shorter way, you may reach a specific goal faster, but you miss out on everything the hard path can offer you.
Often the hard road is only hard before you start. Once you make the first step, the journey no longer feels hard, and eventually, you even enter a state of flow where time seems to fly, and you perform effortlessly.
4. You are stronger than you think
Many people have no idea what they’re capable of.
So most people underestimate their ability to make it through tough times. You often hear things like, oh, I could have never done this. But what if you’re faced with something genuinely devastating?
Will you give up?
During hard times you will find a Why that is so big; it’s pulling you forward no matter what. You will find out how incredibly strong you are.
5. You will get to know the real You
Many people go through life without ever finding out who they are.
I think this is a sad thing because it can lead to shallow relationships, self-hatred, and a life without passion.
If you have to stretch yourself, if you go beyond your breaking point, you may find your true self. You may find out that you’re more, that you can do more, and be more than you ever thought.
If you want to build trust in yourself, you must start trusting in your abilities first. Start trusting your own body, your strength, your wisdom, and your intuition.
How to make the hard road feel easy
I know taking action is hard.
I guess you could blame your DNA.
- You are programmed to be lazy, to save energy, and to avoid danger.
- You are programmed to store data and to eat everything sweet you can find.
- You’re programmed to seek out instant gratification, and the dopamine hit associated with it.
In essence, you are programmed to make the worst decisions possible continually.
What’s the solution?
It’s all about habits.
If you do something for the first time, you probably suck at it; hence it’s the hard road. However, if you stick to it long enough, you will not only get better, but you will develop the habit of doing it.
Habits are compelling. Once established, a habit requires you very little energy.
Think of brushing your teeth.
When you were a child, your parents had to brush your teeth for you. Then they had to remind you every morning and every evening to do it. You probably refused to do it because you just didn’t like it, or you didn’t see sense in it. It was just not funny.
Do you brush your teeth every day?
Yes, you probably are one of the lucky people who can brush their teeth every day, and you do it without even thinking about it. It’s a habit, and it requires no unique energy on your part.
The Takeaway
Over time the easy road will become hard, and the hard road will become easy.
Don’t hesitate, tackle the hard road, build the habits you need, and strive for success.
And remember this: take the hard road, not the easy one. The road that leads to life is a hard one, and it passes through a narrow gate, but the road to destruction is easy, and the gate is broad. Plenty take the easy road; few take the hard one. Your job is to find the hard one, and go by that.
― Philip Pullman
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