Hard Work Appreciation Post

Lately it has been chess. In the past, it has been bicycling, running (physical fitness in general), and maybe even starting a campfire with damp wood. The hard work needed to meet challenges is not something I enjoy most of the time. I don’t love knowing that the solution to the puzzle is sitting right outside of my periphery of thought. I don’t love laboring up a hill on my bike and feeling my legs turn to fire and my lungs feel underdeveloped. And I certainly don’t love the realization that the bundle of wood they sold me doesn’t take to kindling that well, so here goes another hour trying to make the relaxing part of camping happen.

Although I don’t love hard work most of the time, I appreciate it.

The difference is important. Usually, things I enjoy make me smile. Putting on some Fleetwood Mac and making pasta sauce: smile. Telling a bad joke that elicits eye rolls: smile. Even spending time writing these thoughts to no one in particular: there’s a quiet smile inside somewhere.

Burning quads and unburned wood do not make me smile. They make me sweat and maybe mumble some profanity to the universe, certainly, but not giggle with delight. Though they don’t fill me with joy, they do bring me a few other things.

First, that sense of endless challenge gives me something to focus on. It gives me something to dedicate mind and body to until it is done, and that is something that can be hard to come by these days. As I creep up a hill and feel my legs scream for rest, the only thing to do is to work my mind in order to keep working my body. Nothing else is happening except that, and for those few minutes (that feel like hours), I get to practice focus.

Second, that focus brings about balance. Life is busy. There’s a lot happening, even in the downtime, whenever that is. Blocking it all out to make sure this damn fire finally takes is part of the reason I do these activities in the first place. I need different experiences to take my mind off of those other experiences. I need to be tucked in the woods and a bit uncomfortable in order to crawl back into my routines and feel refreshed. The more I can disrupt that sense of normalcy, the better the normalcy is when I get back to it.

Third, perseverance is just important. It’s important to struggle, to test limits, to fail, and to try again. I’ve taken breaks going up hills only to not need them the next time. That has made me feel amazing, even if that wonderful feeling in and of itself makes me feel silly (who cares about biking up that hill, in the grand scheme of things). When the fire finally takes and I can actually sit in my camping chair, my thoughts as I stare into the amber heat are all warmed with a layer of gratitude.

Much of how I balance the hard work of everyday life is by engaging in activities that in and of themselves are hard work. It’s important to be consistently learning and growing, and that doesn’t come by sitting around and feeling comfortable. I’d like to think that by doing that, by consistently engaging in activities that push my thinking and push my heartrate, I’m better able to tackle the challenges of learning, of leading, and simply of being. Along the way, listening to a good Rumors album while the sauce simmers ties it all together nicely.