What’s more difficult, doing a hard thing once or an easy thing over an extended period of time?

Both can be equal.

An easy thing repped over an extended period of time can be a definition of process. A hard thing done once can be more result based. 

Thus connect the two. 

There’s a mountain next to my home in California called Mt. Diablo. It’s 4,000 tall in elevation and takes 8 miles to hike up it.

That’s a hard thing to do. You will probably do that very sparingly. But if that is even in your radar, you have to do an easy thing over and over, over an extended period of time in your attempt to be prepared for when the big task comes.

You will probably create a plan where the desired outcome is you feel prepared to do the hard thing. The obstacle isn’t in the plan or the hard thing, its in your ability to execute the plan so that you can conquer the big hard thing.

If you aren’t in the process of conquering, what are you even doing? If you aren’t in the process of pursuit, what are you even doing? Just going through the motions? That honestly is an appalling thought. 

Just going through the motions.

If you are going to do something, any one thing, create a challenge at the end that makes it worthwhile. Find that part of you that has been dormant, untapped, suppressed, numbed. The unaccessed pieces of your potential that everyone claims to chase yet barely make strides towards.

Execution takes discipline, urgency, accountability and guidance. Discipline to at least do the thing, urgency to say “I will get it done today vs by the end of this week” accountability from others to help you stay on track and guidance from someone who has paid the dummy tax.

If you know there’s something that you can do or want to do and know what you need to do but aren’t doing it, then that’s on you. 

No greater challenge than closing that gap as fast as sustainably possible. 

Find your recipe.