The Fear of Difficulty

The last time I checked most of the things worth accomplishing in life were not easy. Take for example, graduating from high school, making money, or being a successful athlete. All of these things require an investment of time and energy to be accomplished. Why is it though that we think life should be easy and we shouldn’t have to try hard anymore?

I see this way too often with my students. Sure the end goal is to graduate with a degree, but they lose sight so easily when they have one professor they do not like or one assignment that is a little tough. What has happened to the drive to accomplish a goal no matter what obstacles are in the way? Even worse, why do people give up so easily? When I was in school I just did what I had to pass the class. My Granny taught me at a very young age that you have to do many things in life you don’t want to but you do them anyway. Are people not taught this anymore?

Are we instead taught that if there is not a way to “google” the answer that it is not out there? Do life lessons now include the specific instructions every time and not just a guideline? Is the new thought “when the going gets tough, give up”?

Perhaps what we now have as a society is a fear of difficulty. This is a fear that causes us to avoid things that do not come easily and an apathy regarding doing things that might be difficult. We also refuse to change because it is difficult. Instead of trying to put for the time and effort to do something we just avoid it.

What if instead we faced our fear and tried to do more things that required more effort? What harm can be done by doing something that was difficult instead of trying to take the easy way out? Is it really possible as a society to face our fear of difficulty? I think so and I hope so. I believe it we did actually face this fear of difficulty; we would shocked about how much we can actually accomplish.

Therefore, I encourage us as the average Americans to not be put off by things that do not appear easy at first. We should try for things that take a little more effort and take on new challenges on a regular basis. Sometimes once you get started you realize it was not as difficult as you feared, after all.

Predicting the Future

There is a new way of thinking that I’ve experienced lately. It seems to me that many people think that there are people that can predict their own futures and are therefore able to make better decisions because of these predictions. They seem to believe that choices are made because of sure outcomes rather than people who take chances. Perhaps the subscription of this belief goes as far as to theorize that you cannot make a decision if there is an unpredictable outcome.

Take for example people considering relocating for a job. They want to go and they know it could be a great opportunity, but instead they stay because what if they don’t like the job when they get there. The same thing happens many times with finances. A person would like to have a goal to pay off all of the debt they have but believes it will never happen so they keep making the minimum payment. Then there is my most recent favorite of someone deciding not to enter in a relationship because he/she does not know what is going to happen in the next year.

Wake up people! None of us know what is going to happen in the next six months to two years. Heck, we don’t even know what might happen in the next minute. Decisions are made based off of a calculation of what you know could potentially happen and what you hope will happen. No one can say absolutely for sure that they will have the same friends, living situation, job, location, or relationships in the next year. All of those things can change very quickly leaving us with another unpredictable future.

What should be done then? Take some chances. Make a decision that has some longevity or put things in order for just in cases. Ever heard of if Plan A doesn’t work then try Plan B, or C or D or Z? Try planning for once just to see what options you have out there. Step outside of your box a little and try some new things. You never know, you might actually like something that seems a little scary at first.

Life is about taking risks and chances. Why? Because life itself is a risk and chance. You can never succeed if you never try. So stop sitting on your hands because you are unsure of what is to come. Take an opportunity to step out of your normal routine and see what is possible out there because there is no such thing as predicting the future.