Choose Your Hard: Not All Hards Are Created Equal

“RUN TOWARDS IT, NOT AWAY FROM IT!!” one of my favourite hot yoga teachers always says this at the exact moment when sweat is dripping down your face and you’ve held the lunge just long enough that you want to get out of it. At that moment it’s a powerful reminder: when things get hard, do you run towards them or away from them? 

The same question applies in business and in life (“off the mat” as the yogis like to say). But there’s a nuance that often gets missed: sometimes the “hard” you’re running towards isn’t actually good for you or your business. The fact is that not all challenges are created equal. Some push you to grow and the outcome is meaningful impact, but others are distractions from your end goal, and drain your energy along the way. 

For better or for worse, I’ve always been the kind of person who runs towards challenges. I love a good challenge, and I love the learnings that I find along the way. However, even more important than running towards hard things is knowing which hard things are worth running towards. For founders and busy professionals constantly pulled in a million directions, discernment is key. Choosing your hard on purpose is what separates effort that compounds from effort that drains. 

The Two Types of Hard

1. Aligned Hard: The “Good” Kind (Worthwhile Endeavour): Aligned hard is challenging and meaningful. It can be uncomfortable, and stretches your skills, but it moves the needle. 

2. Misaligned Hard: The “Bad” Kind (aka Pointless Grind): Misaligned hard is effort that feels like a grind and doesn’t actually yield real progress. It’s effectively busywork that drains you. 

How to Differentiate Between Aligned vs. Misaligned Hard?

Aligned Hard feels heavy at first, but gets lighter over time as you gain skills; your efforts compound so future challenges feel easier to navigate.

Examples:

• Talking to hundreds of customers instead of guessing what they want (customer discovery, it’s a grind but worthwhile)
• Having difficult but necessary conversations (Ex. with co-founders, letting someone go, investors, etc.)
• Saying no to opportunities that distract from your mission
• Learning a new skill that impacts your growth
• Building foundational systems that scale the business (ex. finance, operations, hiring)

Misaligned hard feels like you’re doing a lot, but not moving forward. The work might feel familiar, but you’re spinning in place.

Examples:

• Over-analyzing decisions instead of testing and iterating quickly
• Tweaking messaging endlessly
• Chasing low-value clients/opportunities 
• Responding to every message immediately instead of prioritizing 
• Over-engineering features before product-market fit
• Spending time on tools, systems, workflows that don’t materially move the business forward 
• Repeating processes without reflection

The Founder’s Reframe

Choose your hard. Know the difference between aligned hard and misaligned hard. It’s OK and encouraged to run away from misaligned hard, run as fast as you can! 

Let’s discuss below: What’s the most difficult thing you’ve done in your business, and what did you learn from it?