It Never gets Easier, We get Better

“It never gets easier” — that was my mind's response when I was in the middle of my run today.

After a week-long break from running, I went out with a conservative goal, keeping it light on my body. Or at least, that’s what I thought. At some point, my body started feeling tired, so I looked at my watch, hoping I’d be close to done. I hadn’t even touched 5K. That’s when my mind reminded me: it never gets easier. 😄

Another thing that holds equally true, though, is this: by doing the thing, we get better. Hard things always stay hard—some days they feel more manageable, some days less. But what changes is how we relate to them. That’s something I’ve been learning across different areas of my life, and I continue to.

This uncomfortable feeling of doing hard things isn’t new to me, especially in the realm of physical training—something I’ve been doing consistently for over a decade now. Last year, during a pull-ups challenge (doing 1000 reps in ~180 minutes), it started to feel impossible after 600 reps. I took a few more minutes than planned, but completed it nonetheless. And this feeling is especially common in running—every long run feels difficult in some or the other way. Just last week, I was running a half marathon and hit a mental wall at about 7k mark—barely one-third in. I seriously doubted if I'd finish the race, let alone do better than the last one. Somehow, I did and even set a personal best.

Though physical training gives me tangible examples, the same principles are carried over to everything else—professional career, relationships, and even writing. Right now, I don’t have a full-time job. The uncertainty and self-doubt creep in often. There are days when I feel confident and clear-headed. On other days, I lose composure. But again, the same principles apply. Finding a job is hard.

Anything worthwhile (and that could be different for each of us) is usually followed by a ton of resistance, procrastination, and doubts. What I’ve learned, or rather, what life continues to teach me—is that it’s not going to get easier. But with consistent practice, I can get better at handling the hard things.

There’s a line I remind myself of often—can’t remember if I stole it from someone or came up with it myself: “Feel what you want to feel, but do what needs to be done.”

If we keep doing the hard, but right things, long enough, sooner or later we’ll find ourselves on the other side of the tunnel—ready for the next one.