Hard Things
A nice long stretch after a car ride, hitting the gym after a hiatus, the first run after your schedule got thrown off – these are some of the most satisfying feelings of accomplishment.
In the past month my roommates and I went through the process of applying and getting denied by multiple landlords and apartment complexes. The problem with this being we had a move out deadline on our existing apartment. Finally, the week before our move out date, we found a beautiful apartment with a very helpful manager who got us applied and approved within two days. Nonetheless, that still left us with the task of packing, loading a U-Haul (twice), moving an hour and a half a way and unloading the same U-Haul (twice) up three flights of stairs into our new apartment.
This all happened within a three-day timeframe, which didn’t leave much room for personal endeavors like going to the gym. By the time we packed and hauled everything up and down multiple flights of stairs, we were passing out cold and sleeping as long as our alarms would allow. Our bodies were exhausted. We were constantly hot and frustrated and had to remind ourselves not to take it out on each other.
It was a few rough days made better with a couple cold beers, an apartment we love and being able to say at the end of it all that we did it ourselves. On top of moving, we spent the following weekend traveling to West Virginia to help our WV family work their garden center for their busiest weekend of the year.
Even though we were working, none of us wanted the weekend to end. It was a blast and honestly made me miss working a physical job. Again, that feeling of being physically tired after putting in hard work is always a satisfying feeling. There’s also something about being surrounded by pretty flowers and fresh greenery that’s uplifting. Maybe all the extra oxygen makes you think better.
This week we finally got back to our regularly scheduled programming. We made it a priority to get back on our gym schedule as well. We don’t all like the same style of workouts, or the same time for a workout (early birds vs. night owls), but it is something we try to prioritize. Even if we don’t always love the workout or if we feel worn out after a long day, we still make our way to the gym. Holding each other accountable and with the excitement of something good for dinner, we push through. It makes us feel like we did something good and took time out of the day for ourselves.
Doing the hard things is important. Hard things make you who you are, they show your limits and how far past your limits you can push yourself. They teach you when things get tough, you have to get tougher. If you don’t, you will never grow and become a better version of yourself. You can’t let doing the hard things make you miserable. As my friend and colleague, Susanna, pointed out recently in one of her articles, being positive in hard times goes a long way.
A few small reminders from these recent experiences:
- You can do hard things.
- Your mind gives out long before your body does (but listen to your body because it’s tired too).
- Complaining about something doesn’t make it go away. You have to do it one way or the other so make the best of it.
- Be accountable to yourself and if that’s not enough, be accountable to someone who matters to you.
