What are you doing that is truly difficult—not just the everyday stuff that life throws your way, but the hard things you choose to do to grow? Maybe it’s setting your alarm 15 minutes earlier, getting that run in even if it’s drizzling outside, dedicating focused time to a complex project, tackling the daily crossword puzzle, or learning a new language. These small but intentional choices push us beyond our comfort zones and develop resilience, discipline, and growth.
Adversity is personal - it looks different for everyone. We all have varying tolerance levels for hard things, depending on our abilities and situations. One person’s “hard” isn’t going to be a challenge for someone else. The point is to know what is difficult for us and choose to do it. There’s something powerful about walking into the arena with all the nervous knots in your stomach, knowing you may struggle - and doing it anyway. Whether applying a skill you’re not yet proficient in, stepping into a fitness class for the first time, or having a difficult conversation, progress happens in those moments of discomfort.
Growth is a marathon, not a sprint. We have to play the long game. We live in a world where people often chase the hacks. But true success is built from putting in the reps. Thriving businesses and high-performing teams don’t flourish by accident. They get there by making tough decisions, surrounding themselves with people who push each other, and staying the course even when progress feels slow.
Here are four principles that help us to stay in the fight, and grow along the way.
Bring people with you. Not as competitors - but as partners in progress. It’s easier to stay committed when you’re surrounded by others striving toward challenging goals. True accountability partners. These kinds of people are the ones who celebrate your wins, push you when you hesitate, and help create an environment of continuous growth—the type of environment where you want to get better.
All three of us at ALPs love writing. We often have multiple half-written pieces sitting unfinished at any given time. Sometimes, the material pours out of us. Other times, it’s weeks or months of crafting something we feel is worthy of sending out into the world. And yet we know this: that 90% of finishing a blog is simply having the discipline to keep our butts in the chair. All other distractions shut out. Organize. Write. Finish the piece. That’s the hard part, and we know the others have our backs to help clean up the final product. And that’s the part that makes us better.
“Compete for yourself and root for everybody else. ”
I train jiu-jitsu with people who choose to get smashed for fun. Progress can feel nonexistent, especially when you’re new and constantly getting crushed. Then, once you figure out some stuff, there are then numerous plateaus, sometimes for months. On any given day, you might feel like you’re getting nowhere. Maybe today, I got choked out only three times instead of five. Hardly a victory, right?
But then a training partner asks, “If you sparred against yourself from six months ago, who would win?” And suddenly, you see how far you’ve come. Today’s version of you would win.
Keep showing up - We must keep putting in the reps, especially when we don’t want to. Doing intentional actions is progress. Years ago, my husband Matt attempted his first 50-mile trail race. Training and preparing for such a significant event is hard as hell in and of itself. On race day, he pushed for more than 11 hours and knocked down the miles. He had one more 12.5-mile loop to run to complete the 50 miles. As he made his way to his truck to refill his water bottle, the Race Director said he was pulling him from the course - that with his current pace, he wasn’t going to make it under the 12-hour time limit…unless he ran the final 12.5 miles at a 7:30/mile pace! They both knew that wasn’t going to happen. Despite the pain he was in, Matt knew he could finish 50 miles, regardless of the time limit. He came to meet that mileage mark, which he was determined to do. So he decided to set off on that last loop and “run the miles he came to run.” He may not have met the race’s standard, but he met his own. And for what it’s worth, he came back the next year and completed 50 miles under the time limit.
Growth is unglamorous - We tend to think of progress as something tangible—something we can point to and say, “Here’s my success.” Most people quit doing difficult things or don’t start because they worry they won’t progress…or progress “enough.” But what if success is what happens inside of us? What if the real reward is learning to stay steady in the struggle, to learn and develop regardless of what’s happening around us?
My daughter has been taking swimming lessons nearly every week since she was a year old. Sometimes, she doesn’t want to go, it wears her out, and she gets frustrated because she’s gassed out or trying to learn a new stroke. She just recently realized that the past four years of work have given her the ability to save her own life if she falls into a pool. That’s the nature of progress. We often don’t recognize it until it truly matters.
Growth is slow. It’s frustrating. Most of the time, it just feels like we’re treading water. Improvement is rarely apparent in the moment, but the small, daily disciplines compound to yield undeniable progress over time. The key is sticking with it long enough to see results.
Perseverance unlocks our potential - It transforms what we perceive as struggle into strength. We don’t grow by avoiding difficulty; we grow by leaning into it, choosing the hard things, and trusting that the effort itself - not just the end result - is what makes us better. Our goals are not the point. Our growth is the point.
Success in any meaningful endeavor—whether in business, life, or leadership—isn’t built on quick wins. It is built through intentional actions, with the personal satisfaction of knowing that you’re striving and working toward something great. Even if that something great is only felt inside of you.
The work is hard. The progress is slow. But the rewards that happen inside of us are worth it. So, which version of you is winning - the you of today or 6 months ago?
