Why Is It So Hard? – Part 2
David Freund, Chief Leadership Officer

In my last post, “Why Is It So Hard?” I posed the question, “what if hard was good?” I then began sharing Darren Hardy’s three tips for handling hard better, the first of which was “Win What’s Next”. I’d like to take a quick moment to explain how I was able to “Win What’s Next.” Last time, as you’ll recall, I talked about my broken shoulder, which resulted in shoulder replacement surgery, which resulted in my inability to use my right arm. It was almost impossible to raise my right hand onto my desk and type on my laptop. One of my regular activities is to conduct 360° assessments. My approach for these assessments is to work with a client by developing questions and having one-on-one phone calls with them. During these phone calls, I usually take notes so that I can accurately reflect on the statements the person I was interviewing had shared with me. So, how do you make notes if you’re right handed but can’t use your right hand? How do you find a win in a dilemma like that?

First, I knew that my iPad had a tremendous ability to take dictation; as I write this post, I’m writing it on my iPad and then I’ll send it to my laptop for final editing. Then, after about a 60-second search, I found an app that allows me to transcribe a phone call. Win number one: I can have a transcript of the conversation I just had with a person. Win number two: I can open my Evernote app side-by-side with the transcription and read the statements I want included in my 360° summary. Two wins to quickly solve my inability to use my right arm. In fact, I’m able capture more information faster than if I were taking notes by hand. I faced an obstacle, but when my mind shifted to what I could do, rather than focused on what I couldn’t, I found two wins right in front of my nose. So to reiterate, tip number one, when faced with something very hard: “Win What’s Next.”

The second tip Darren Hardy gave was to, “Entrench Support.” This one was a bit harder for me because I’m not a person who likes to rely on others for support. Truth be told, this is really a fallacy for me because the reality is we all rely on others regularly. Despite this, having to rely on others was still so frustrating. I wasn’t able to use my tractor and snow blower to clean my driveway. I wasn’t able to go out to my wood rack and bring in firewood for the woodstove. For the first few weeks, I couldn’t even dress myself. I’ll never forget one Sunday morning, after some of my grandkids stayed overnight, I needed my granddaughter Ellie to tie my shoes. I had to learn to accept support. I had to learn to rely on others. I had to learn to accept my colleagues’ offer to delay an article or a post for a couple of weeks. The beauty in learning to “Entrench Support” is that you find support all around you and realize how much people really care.

So when you’re faced with something that’s quite simply really hard, remember tip number one, “Win What’s Next” and tip number two, “Entrench Your Support.” Next time, we’ll dig into the third tip: “Embrace Your Failure.”