Continuing on the Jocko Willink theme, there are a number of internet personalities who stress the importance of doing hard things. There are two reasons for this. First, everything. Literally everything in life that has any meaning or relevance to you is hard. Not a little hard. Just effing hard. Running a marathon when you’ve been a couch potato for years is simply hard. Passing an advanced math course in university is hard. The second reason is that if something is really, really hard, you will have much less competition. Most people stay away from hard things and focus on the easy path. So, the more you are willing to take on hard things, the less you have to worry about others eating your cake. Many things in life are set up in such a way that you have to show a certain amount of grit to make it through. University education is a good example of that. The degree that you get at the end shows to potential employers that you managed to show up for years in a row, do the work and not give up. To be honest, very often the actual courses you took matter very little. It’s simply your ability to show up and do the work that matters more. So, as my challenge to you today: where are you shying away from doing hard things? And can you find it in yourself to do these anyway and outcompete others that shy away from it?