What I Do When I Feel Like Giving Up

Theodore Roosevelt famously said, “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” So often it seems that we want to work easily at work worth doing. We want our work to be helpful and respected, but we do not want to struggle through our work. We want our stomachs to be flat and our arms to be st... See more

Despite our resistance to it, I have never found myself feeling worse after the hard work was done. There have been days when it was damn hard to start, but it was always worth finishing. Sometimes, the simple act of showing up and having the courage to do the work, even in an average manner, is a victory worth celebrating.

Once we start a particular task, we realize that they are not as hard and will be done sooner than we think. It's just a matter of getting started in order to gain momentum.

It's all about showing up. There will be times when we do not want to curate stories, do not want to work out, or do not desire to do the work to do the research. But tasks are easier when we start getting them done than when we procrastinate and think about how daunting they are.

Life is easier now than it has ever been. 300 years ago, if you didn’t kill your own food and build your own house, you would die. Today, we whine about forgetting our iPhone charger.  Maintain perspective. Your life is good and your discomfort is temporary. Step into this moment of discomfort and let it strengthen you.

Life is a constant balance between giving into the ease of distraction or overcoming the pain of discipline. 

The great feeling of accomplishment is on the other side.