Have a greater threshold for struggle

How easy or how hard we perceive something to be is just that — a perception. When something is easy, we perceive it that way because it falls below our threshold for struggle. When something is hard, we perceive it that way because it lies beyond that threshold. But here’s the amazing thing about our threshold for struggle: we can change it, which means our perception of what’s easy and what’s hard can change as well.

When we consistently do something we perceive to be hard, our threshold for struggle moves up, and the things we used to think were hard now seem easier. Conversely, when we consistently do something we perceive to be easy, our threshold for struggle moves down, and the things we used to think were easy now seem much more difficult. In short, the more we do hard, the more everything becomes easy. And the more we do easy, the more everything becomes hard.

If we want to grow, advance, and evolve, we need to have a greater threshold for struggle. We need to push outside our comfort zone. We need to embrace challenge and welcome unexpected adversity. And we need to have a mindset of being comfortable with uncomfortable.

Imagine your threshold for struggle was 10 times what it is now. What might you be capable of? What type of person would you be? How might having a greater threshold for struggle impact your attitude, your health, your relationships, your career, and your life?