I recently joined a Facebook group led by Jesse Itzler, author of “Living with a SEAL.” It’s called #wedohardstuff. While it’s mostly physically hard stuff, there have been some mental challenges as well.

I’m sporting the We Do Hard Stuff hat after a long run. It just felt right.

 

 

Right now, doing hard stuff is not just physical. My mind has to be convinced. My bank balance needs to see more of a positive balance than negative.

It’s easy to ignore certain things out of fear, lack of knowledge or just sheer laziness.

For me that hard stuff means going to the doctor’s office for a physical, the first since 2012. I’m overweight, a little more than usual, but still healthy. Now I have to track my food for the next few weeks, and gather calorie data.

I’m going to my first eye doctor’s appointment in 20 years. Time to switch out the glasses, which I got right out of college.

Doing hard stuff is getting back into a training routine — my doctor told me to, but signing up for the virtual Runner’s World Festival Grand Slam made me do it. I think getting back into that mindset has been the hardest part. I liked spending my days cleaning and doing what I pleased, when I wanted to. Then I work in the evenings. Now I’m back into a routine. It feels good.

My milage hasn’t been as good as I would like, but I have been plugging away consistently enough that I feel confident that I’ll be ready to race in October.

There will be some tune-up races along the way. I’ll also be cheering on the local middle school cross-country team as they compete. Mountain Kid 1 will be competing on the team — her first school sport.

The hard stuff is also getting back into volunteerism. I’m not a people person. I’ll help you move, or load your groceries on the belt when you’re tired, but talking to you while I do it is a challenge. I start my first volunteering gig this week, teaching second-graders to swim. We’ll be doing something I love, which will make is easier to relate and talk people. Hopefully, this will lead to other things.

Hard stuff comes in many forms — telling the truth, admitting you have a problem, keeping it real, changing your lifestyle.

We do hard stuff all the time — your easy may be the most difficult thing someone else has ever done. Working on that hard stuff until it becomes easy makes it a real accomplishment.

What is “hard stuff” for you? What steps can/are you making today to get it done?