“Do your hardest homework first, Denise.
The rest will be easy & you’ll get it done faster. Then you can go outside to play.”
This is what my mom would say to me as I came trudging into the house whining about all the homework that I had to get done. What this taught me was that by doing my hardest homework first created a discipline in me of tackling the hard stuff in life with determination and a reward at the end … being able to go outside to play.
These words, with the disciplined behavior, come back to me even now in my life when I am faced with an overload of daunting tasks. I try not to whine too much … at least not out loud.
Wouldn’t it be great to just hit the easy button in life?
Of course, it would be and where would the reward be if you had that easy button. Life if full of challenges … or as I like to call them ‘growth opportunities’. These ‘growth opportunities’ are one way for you to establish your true value … your integrity, honesty, and worth. Basically, it allows you to show up in life being your real self … not what other people want you to be.
Will it always be hard?
The hardest part, as my clients tell me, is the change I am asking them to make. I am asking them to view their thoughts differently when life hands them challenges. I am asking them to make a different choice in what they will do … how they handle the challenge. I am asking them to come from a place of love for themselves and not from a place of fear or lack of faith in who they are. The process of change is a journey and is so worth it. Once you make the choice of coming from love, faith in you, life then begins to flow with ease. My mom was teaching me to love myself enough to do the hard work and know that it would pay off in the end. I still go outside to play when I need a reward.