when you don't feel like doing the hard thing

hey Builder,

when is the last time you chose hard over easy?
seriously.
think about it.
when did you last stare at a mountain of an obstacle and still press forward?

you did not want to do it…
you knew it would be hard…
but you knew it would be worth it?
I am currently staring at two obstacles just like this.
one personally and one professionally.
I know what’s on the other side.
and I want it.
but…damn.
I don’t want to do the hard thing. again.

and that feeling is my trigger.
not the “I want what’s on the other side” feeling.
the “damn, I don’t want to do this hard thing” feeling.
when I feel that…I know I have to.
or else I’ll live with regret.
and I can’t have that.

here’s what I’ve learned after years of coaching people in business and fitness…

the thing stopping people from success is never tactical.
it’s rarely the strategy or the system.
it’s something deeper.

there’s a prerequisite to extraordinary results that everyone overlooks…

successful people do not chase comfort and ease.
they chase hard.

comfort is not our friend.
easy is never the goal.
hard is always the goal.

and comfort is sneaky as hell!

here’s the thing about comfort most people miss:
it doesn’t announce itself.

you don’t wake up one day and decide “I’m going to get comfortable.”
it sneaks in.

you start putting in a little less effort in your workouts.
you earn more money and become a little more complacent.
you hit a milestone and ease off the gas.

before you know it, comfort has infected everything.
and the more successful you become?
the more dangerous this gets.

but here’s how you fight back.
it’s what I call “Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.”

borrowed from aviation.
when a plane is in trouble, pilots follow this exact sequence.

First: Aviate. just fly the damn airplane.
in your life: master daily habits.
stop trying to set 10-year visions when you can’t string together two days of consistency.

Second: Navigate. once you’re stable, figure out where you’re going.
build quarterly goals, annual plans, five-year visions.
but only after you’ve proven you can handle the basics.

Third: Communicate. now you can help others and get help yourself.
hire coaches. teach others. this is where you hit light speed.

most people try to do this backwards.
they crash.

the killing comfort lifestyle isn’t complicated:

Balance: optimize the fundamentals.
sleep, nutrition, movement, vitamin D.
the basics that fuel performance.

Focus: learn deep work.
get into the weeds.
stop surface-level thinking.

Grit: build mental toughness deliberately.
hard workouts. cold exposure. heat therapy.
things that make you comfortable being uncomfortable.

lastly…stop complaining about the work.
if you’re doing hard things but whining about them, you’re missing the point.

the enemy never stops…

comfort will try to sneak back in everywhere.
it’s relentless.

the goal isn’t to eliminate it completely.
the goal is to stay aware.
to continually assess where you might be getting soft.
to make corrections before it’s too late.

the bottom line…

if you want extraordinary results, there’s a prerequisite everyone overlooks:

getting uncomfortable.
staying uncomfortable.
making friends with discomfort.

stop trying to be so damn comfortable.

the depth of your success will match your willingness to embrace hard.

what are you going to choose today?
easy or hard?
comfort or growth?
ordinary or extraordinary?

the choice is yours.

try harder,

JM

P.S. If this hit you, grab my book “Killing Comfort: The Overlooked Prerequisite to Extraordinary Results.” Because if you don’t kill comfort, comfort will kill you.