Many years ago my Grandmother and I were discussing a family member who was destroying herself with bad health practices. My Grandmother said, “Oh, she’s never going to do right. She’s not going to be uncomfortable. She won’t do anything hard. She’s always going to do whatever is easiest in the moment.” That was so true. Now, this relative who is much younger than me, is broke down with all kinds of ailments, all self inflicted. I am a strength training power builder and work a high stress full time job.

There are ways to embrace the hard stuff and improve the quality of our lives. Let’s face it, many of life’s most fulfilling moments come after we scale the mountain of difficulty. Most things that bring great joy are bought with a price.

Stop resisting difficulty. Our resistance is a large part of what we perceive as hard. Just accept that sometimes life is hard. Then you can either walk through the difficulty or shrink away and refuse to live your life to the fullest. Your choice. Once you have been empowered with choice, you realize that you did sign on for this because you want the rewards that doing the hard stuff brings.

Remind yourself that yes, it is difficult, so what? Is it easier to settle for less than what your heart desires? I don’t think so. Toughen up and dig in and go for your goals.

It’s very important to practice excellent self care during difficulty. Eat, exercise (with your doctor’s approval) and rest well. Eat protein at every meal. Keep up any spiritual practice that you may have and remember that everything in your life is not hard. Do you have a special friend or pet that is always a blessing? Enjoy those small pools of joy and be grateful.

Always honor yourself for your hard work. Be proud. Reward yourself. Bask in the glow of a job well done and remember, the difficulty is not forever. This too shall pass and when it does, you will emerge the winner because you chose to do the hard stuff.