The Difference Between Bad & Difficult
I sent out some personal notes this past week to check in with, and say hello to, a few Sunday Morning Joe readers.
These people knew there was something else about my notes that went further than “What’s up?”
I was selling something.
Maybe not necessarily, “Hey, buy this!!” Instead, all of my messages contained an ask for help that could potentially benefit my professional growth.
And the truth is, I don’t like this “feeling of asking.”
Internally, this is how I believed they received my ask:
“I don’t want this.”
“What’s his angle?”
“There’s something more in it for him than for me.”
“Now… we see what 3 years of this newsletter were leading up to.”
This is how a negative internal narrative can tear anyone down. I had built my own narrative that selling is bad.
Yet, after I had reached out, the exchanges of ideas with many people started to flow. Back and forth.
Almost immediately, I felt better than when I had hit “send” on those initial emails. A flow of positive energy filled me up because I had approached my own edge of discomfort — and there were others on the other side reaching a hand across to help me in my jump.
I now am reconsidering what is bad versus difficult
Recently, I had a conversation with a friend who suggested a key part of happiness was getting rid of things that make you feel bad. And the people who make you feel bad.
Of course we want to eliminate these energies. Bad people, in particular, are a non-negotiable.
I really like the simplicity of my friend’s outlook.
I gave this more thought.
I wondered if I regularly, and mistakenly, categorize activities and people as good or bad? When I do this, am I losing sight of what is just difficult? Who is just difficult?
By difficult, I mean tricky. Perhaps scary. And definitely uncertain.
Every journey towards improvement takes a path through the challenges of discomfort.
We’re constantly bombarded with messages of easy and quick. We are programmed to jump at what is readily available, especially if it is in double the quantity and in half the time. These messages can blur the line between what’s bad and what’s difficult.
So, what brings more delineation?
Exercise patience. This gives you the space to examine unexplored options.
It might call us to double down on what is difficult.
With gratitude,
-Joe
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Hi, I’m Joe, the owner of 5 With Joe Performance Coaching. My clients are leaders, organizations, and teams who utilize my Olympic Gold Medal performance strategies and 40 years of navigating whitewater river rapids to streamline decision making and actions when engaged in complicated river currents of business and life.
The best way to interact with me is though Sunday Morning Joe, my weekly newsletter that explores the art of improving performance, overcoming challenge, and aligning with purpose for Sunday readers in search of more depth and motivation. Subscribe HERE for free.
