I love stories that inspire you to try harder because you see the benefits of doing so.
by Tim Burningham
My family and I recently returned from a trip to Utah. During the trip we spent much of our time at a beautiful lake near the Bear River Mountains. One day our group planned various hikes through the majestic mountains with rugged terrain and peaks that soared to nearly 10,000 feet.
With a pregnant wife and three young children my family decided we’d stick to the flat, even surfaced three quarter mile hike. However, at the last minute we decided to try the somewhat steep and rocky 8-mile hike-just to see how far we could make it before turning back. To my surprise, and with my 2 year old son in arms nearly the entire trip, our family completed the eight mile hike together.
In life, we are often faced with challenges and opportunities that are difficult and often seem impossible. However, our potential and capacity is amazing. Many times we underestimate or do not realize what we can do. Many times we put self-imposed limits on ourselves and fail to venture to the unknown or dare to do the impossible.
Whether it’s fear, a lack of confidence, complacency, or other reasons, we often hold back and do not push ourselves. For some reason, somewhere along our life journey, we begin to believe we cannot do hard things. I have learned through this hiking experience and other life adventures and challenges though, that we can do hard things. We can do things that are beyond our own wildest imaginations if we allow ourselves to believe and try.
At the beginning of the day, I never believed my family could or would complete the trip. I thought it would be too difficult for us but we did it. It wasn’t always easy and at times I doubted we’d make it all the way but we did. And because we did we were able to view some of the most spectacular images and enjoy the peace and serenity of the mountains. We saw wild flowers blooming in colorful, luscious fields, majestic peaks soaring high above us in the air, a buck scampering across snow in search of food, and a calm crystal-clear hidden lake.
The reward for our efforts was beauty and tranquility all around us as well as a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. And for my 5 and 6 year olds who walked the entire trip on their own, they can look back on this experience often and feel good about who they are and what they can achieve.
So what rewards are we missing because we are unwilling to do hard things? And why do we deny ourselves of the incredible sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes from achieving difficult tasks? Our potential is great and each of us has the capacity to do great things. Let’s stop holding back and start believing that we can do hard things!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tim is a busy father and husband. He works as a Skilled-Nursing Administrator in Texas and writes uplifting and empowering blogs on his website http://www.burntham.com with his free time.
Are you willing to do the hard things?
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
That was the finest personal-experience-cum-advice on taking full blown action. Tim is right in saying that we often underachieve because of our self-imposed limitations. In fact, we don’t even try our fullest for unknown reasons (might be called laziness) and remain at a disadvantage.
Susan,
Too often our limiting beliefs hold us back. We just need the confidence to know that we can do whatever we set our hearts on. It’s truly amazing what we are able to accomplish. I’ve seen that in my own life. Some of the things I’ve been able to accomplish have blown me away when I look back.
You’ve heard the saying “Whatever the mind can dream, it can achieve.” That is so true. We can’t let the self-imposed limitations hold us back.
Thanks again for the feedback. I appreciate you.
Connie