This Is an Opportunity
I was at the gym this week, and the next set of exercises involved battle ropes and standing mountain climbers. I looked at what was coming and thought to myself, and then said out loud, “This is going to be a hard one.” My coach responded, “This is an opportunity.”
That simple statement did not make the exercise any easier. The battle ropes were still heavy. The mountain climbers were still challenging. But it changed the way I approached what was in front of me. You see, I had acknowledged a fact: This is going to be hard. There was nothing wrong with recognizing that. The problem was that I had stopped there.
When my coach reframed the challenge as an opportunity, my thinking shifted. Instead of focusing only on how difficult the exercise was going to be, I began thinking about what I could do to get through it. And interestingly, I had a little more in the tank.
I didn’t pause for an extra breath as quickly. I did not rest my arms as soon. When the exercise became difficult, I slowed down rather than stopping.
The workout had not changed. My approach had.
That is the danger of stopping at “This is hard.” If we stay there too long, negative self-talk can creep in. I’m not sure I can do this. This is too much. Maybe I’m not ready.
But when we move from “This is hard” to “This is an opportunity,” we begin thinking about possibility.
The same thing happens at work.
First, don’t avoid the hard things. Difficult assignments, projects, conversations and responsibilities often give us our greatest opportunities to grow.
At the same time, seeing something as an opportunity does not mean looking at it through rose-colored glasses. A hard project may require skills you do not currently have. Acknowledge that. Then ask: What will it take to make this possible?
Perhaps you need to learn a new skill. Find the resources or training that will help you develop it.
Perhaps you are building a team and recognize that someone else has expertise you lack. Bring that person onto your team.
And then do some good project planning. Break the big, hard thing into smaller tasks. What needs to happen first? What comes next? Who needs to be involved? How much time will each step take?
Breaking a difficult project into manageable pieces does not necessarily make the work easy, but it can make it feel much more possible.
There will always be hard things in front of us.
The next time you find yourself thinking, “This is going to be hard,” acknowledge it.
Then keep going. This is hard. And this is an opportunity.