Do the Hard Thing

Consuming is easy. Creating is hard.

I’ve been noticing a worrying trend with myself lately, and naturally, we tend to notice things about others that bug us about ourselves and our own choices.

That trend is consuming more (or rather) than creating. It’s easier to scroll a social media site or watch TV than it is to create content. When I run into something I don’t know how to do, or is going to take some real effort/brain power to work on and complete or fix, I find my attention wandering to what might be happening online, or if there are any new articles in my feed reader. Do my games need attention? Is there any new email I need to check?

My mind wants to take the easy way out. Procrastinate. Scroll. Read. Research. Do an easier task. Anything but doing the actual task that has become difficult or even just mundane (and thus boring).

I think in a world where endless entertainment is right at our fingertips every moment of the day, it’s just too easy to “take a quick break” and…avoid whatever it is that will require actual *work* to figure out.

Of course when I force myself to stay on task, and finish the “hard work” (or at least the part that felt impossible when I started), I feel so much better and more gratified than when I allow myself to put it off. And the more I force myself to just keep at it, the easier it gets to tackle hard pieces of a project instead of itching to “escape”. I start actually looking for the challenges, instead of trying to avoid them (depending on the challenge).

It’s a process, of course, to make a habit of pushing through. Personally, I’m using timed sessions – I have to work at something I’m struggling with for just 15 more minutes. If I’m still not making progress, I can set a timer for 10 minutes, get up, walk around, and give my head a break. It’s not permission to scroll or do an easier task or otherwise distract myself, but I can walk away and let my mind *truly* rest for a few minutes by doing…nothing.

The important thing is, no matter how many 15/10 sessions it takes, I can’t walk away until I get through the part that is giving me fits, or until I determine I need help that isn’t available right then. With AI, that happens less often now, but it does happen (please remember that I am in the tech industry for my day job – I can either accept and learn to use AI, or I will eventually be made obsolete by peers who do so. I choose the former, thanks, because I like my steady paycheck and insurance. And yes, I do use it to noodle out writing problems as well, because it’s a very handy tool for such things).

So my current mantra is, “Do the hard thing.” When I run into something that seems impossible or is hurting my head, I repeat that phrase, and set a timer. Rewiring my mind, as it were, to tackle those harder projects head on with a creative spirit, rather than letting myself slink off into an easier “consumption mode” that will leave me feeling empty and restless in the end (and that hard project will still be there anyway, staring. Waiting).

Do you consume more than you create? Or do you “do the hard thing”?

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