Harder than you think

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My younger brother was at our house helping move some furniture the other weekend. As a thank you for his help, I bought the breakfast burritos and let him be the choose the soundtrack for our chores.

Our collective musical tastes were formed driving our beloved ‘04 Jeep Liberty to school listening to the mix tapes we “burned” ourselves to play in our car’s CD player (if that sentence doesn’t make you nostalgic I don’t know what will).

All of that is to say we, generally, like similar music so I was glad when he chose 90’s Hip-Hop as the backdrop to our furniture moving.

Opening the catalogue to 90’s Hip-Hop reminded me of one of my favorite lines in music, “Harder than you think is a beautiful thing.”

That sentiment is courtesy of a Public Enemy song by the same name and is a good reminder for any leader grinding their way through a tough time and got me thinking about resilience broadly.

Comfort based decisions

In the Marine Corps there is a common piece of advice given that aligns well with Public Enemy’s guidance, “beware of comfort based decisions.”

That advice can be lifesaving in the Marines. Deciding to take the harder path, get your boots wet and wade through the river rather than choose the comfort of dry feet on a well worn path likely to be laid with an IED.

While the stakes may be different in the business world, ensuring you don’t build your life around comfort based decisions is just as valuable.

In the age of optimization and efficiency it can be tempting to look for short cuts or to minimize all risk by never making a tough decision or having an opinion, but this is a mistake.

It is easy to fool yourself into thinking you’re moving forward when you’re really standing still because you consistently optimize for comfort and never push yourself out of your circle of competence to actually grow.

This mentality can be useful if you’re comfortable coasting through life, but isn’t very beneficial if you’re trying to make a dent in the world or have a few good stories for your grandchildren.

Real leaders don’t get paid to solve easy problems or to promote stasis. Next time you have the opportunity to take on a hard assignment but feel that tightness in your gut telling you not to raise your hand tell that voice to shove it.

As the motto for the British Special Air Service goes, Who Dares Wins.

Journey > destination

I think part of the resistance to doing hard things comes from a mindset of trying to move from outcome to outcome without appreciating the beauty of the work itself. This fixation on only the destination is a sure way to dissatisfaction because you tie your happiness to expectations which may not align with reality and in many cases are outside of your control.

I recently competed in a 50 kilometer ski mountaineering race with a good friend and about 8 hours in was exhausted and fixated on the finish line. I had to remind myself that the point of participating in the competition was the experience of the event itself, not just the finisher’s t-shirt.

This mantra of Journey greater than Destination is one I go to often when I’m feeling sorry for myself or wishing things were easier. We weren’t put on this earth to lead lives of ease and leisure. Whenever you too are feeling sorry for yourself because the world isn’t rolling out the red carpet or recognizing your brilliance snap out of it.

Remember the journey is the point and the point is to do meaningful, interesting work that is difficult. When you feel yourself disengaging because things are hard and the world isn’t fair, re-engage and remember that the journey is greater than the destination.

Conclusion

So there it is, leadership and mindset lessons inspired by 90’s Hip-Hop (okay technically Harder than You Think came out in 2007, but details). Avoid comfort based decisions and dare to win. Re-engage when the going gets tough by remembering that the journey is greater than the destination.

See y’all next week.