How to Stop Avoiding Hard Things

Are you avoiding working out? Or perhaps a complicated conversation with a friend or loved one?

You’ve written it down on your to-do list so many times. You have cleaned your entire house to avoid doing it. But why? Have you convinced yourself during the avoiding stage that it’s too hard or that you must do x, y, and z before starting? Have you made up a scenario in your head that the thing can’t be completed without first cleaning the sink, clearing out the closet, or designing the perfect workspace to do the job on the computer?

I want to remind you that you have done hard things before and can do them again. Let’s stop avoiding! The stress of avoiding something creates tension and disease in your body. And you don’t want that! Think about this, writing the task down day after day on your to-do list eventually takes more time than doing the thing in the first place.

Let’s tackle the challenging thing head-on. I know that you can do this!

First, write down the goal.

Then make a bullet list of everything that would need to be done to complete that goal, be honest.

Now tackle one of those bullet points right now without overthinking it.

Often our goals are too lofty and focused on the end game or the result. But when we narrow our view to smaller steps to complete the goal, we will find that we are more successful. Being able to cross items off as completed makes us feel good! The result of completing that small task gives us a dopamine hit to our brain, making us feel good about ourselves. That chemical our body creates motivates us, and we continue to towards the direction of change.

I want to hear what your goals are; please share in the comments.