Things that were once hard

One of the great joys of learning is watching things that were once hard become easy.

The first time you try to do 10 push-ups, it feels so hard. Your body shakes, your mind resists, and you want to avoid it the next day. But do it consistently for a few weeks or months, and suddenly 10 push-ups feel easy, almost effortless.

The same is true for running up a hill. At first, even jogging up feels brutal. A month or two later, you can run it. And a little after that, you can sprint it.

The learning is simple: just because something is hard now doesn’t mean it will stay hard.

Progress is the quiet transformation of difficulty into ease. That’s where so much of the joy lives – as we stretch ourselves to accomplish what was once out of reach.