It’s important to do hard stuff.

By ‘hard,’ I specifically refer to things that you dislike doing.

Many things are almost universally considered ‘hard’ or ‘unpleasant’ to do, but whether an individual specifically doesn’t want to do them is different.

For example, lifting heavy weights is hard, and many people really dislike exercise. But many people also love to exercise.

Therefore, the same physically demanding activity may not be ‘hard’ according to my definition.

On the flip side, something may be considered physically easy, such as washing the dishes. But some people really hate doing it. So that same seemingly easy task can be hard for someone.

Of course, this also applies to non-physical things. Some people hate firing employees, and some people really don’t mind it, or perhaps even enjoy it!

I hope that definition of ‘hard things’ is clear. The next question is ‘why?’

Why is it important to do hard things?

In short, it toughens you up.

When you do unpleasant things, it expands your prefrontal cortex. This is the part of your brain involved in decision-making, impulse control, and regulating emotional responses.

Expanding your prefrontal cortex is scientifically proven to help you develop discipline and mental resilience.

The practical application of this, in my mind, is as follows:

Every time you do something you don’t like, such as taking an ice bath, exercising, or working on a hard mental problem, your prefrontal cortex expands.

This in turn builds your resilience to all of life's stressors.

You will be more calm in general and the ‘little mishaps’ in life will no longer stress you out, which is great for mental health.

Also, when there is an emergency situation, you will be more equipped to deal with it. The ability to stay relatively calm under pressure can be life-saving.

Now for the paradox...

Since I know that doing hard stuff has this positive effect, it makes me want to do hard things. But by wanting to do the hard things, doesn’t that now make it no longer unpleasant?

I don’t want you to get the wrong idea though. I know there are people out there that would sum this up as me suggesting that doing hard things is a waste of time.

That is not what I’m saying.

The paradox is interesting, but I still do hard things. Just because I know it is beneficial does not make the task any less unpleasant when I do it.

The bottom line is this.

Doing hard or unpleasant things repeatedly eventually makes those things not so hard. This gives you the ability to do harder things. This is growth.

It’s like exercise. For someone that never exercises, a 10 minute jog may be hard. But if that person does that every day for a week or so, it becomes not so hard, and eventually it is easy. Now 20 minutes is hard. However, that too can be broken through. Eventually, if he or she wants, a marathon doesn’t seem out of reach.

Finally, now that you know the net positive benefit of doing unpleasant things, when you do have to do them, no matter what it is, you have at least one positive twist to put on it.