It’s Going To Be Really Hard!

Labor Day weekend is always a “2-minute warning” type of weekend for the Hall family. Like so many other Americans, once the calendar hits the first Tuesday of September, we panic because the clock is running out on the nice weather. This year we headed to the Grand Canyon to camp for three nights. As we hit I-70 westbound, we bantered back and forth about all the fun we were going to have exploring with two other families we were meeting there, with collectively 10 kids in tow.

Saturday, as we hiked the south rim, we consulted with a park ranger on a few different trails we had been pondering for our Sunday hike. This time we were going to hike down the canyon. The ranger coached us on the best hikes to take with kids in the pack. We finally decided on one that would take approximate two hours roundtrip. We were given the caution list of all the things to take into consideration, as this is a “hard” trail.

Early Sunday morning the 14 of us started hiking down the switchback rock bed trail. We met many great people along the way – of all ages and sizes. Because of the repeated warnings of the hike’s difficulty, we started out slow, stopping and checking to make certain everyone was OK. As we waited, we conversed with the folks coming up. Again, many of them warned us it was going to be hard. It wasn’t until about 20 minutes into the hike that it dawned on me why everyone we met expressed how “hard” it was going to be.

Most hikes consist of hiking up a gradual incline, where you can see the summit. You see where you’re headed, how you’re getting there and when the end is in sight. If the hike is too challenging or way out of your comfort zone as you ascend, you can easily turn back, knowing the hike down provides a reprieve. And you can go back to where you started the known.

When you hike the Grand Canyon, on the other hand, you start at the rim and hike down. There are switchbacks every step, since hiking straight down would surely result in death. You cannot see where you’re headed or how you’re getting there, and the end is definitely not in plain sight. The hard part for most people is hiking up, not down. So there is little enjoyment for the hikers who like to know where the finish line is, get through the hard part first and coast through the easy part on the way back. Hiking the Grand Canyon is not the “norm” when it comes to hiking, so people are quick to exclaim how “hard” it’s going to be.

This is interesting, because many people who said “it’s going to be hard” didn’t know that firsthand. They were just projecting either what they were told or were feeling the uncertainty of a unordinary route. The truth of the matter is, the hike itself was NOT hard – it didn’t test the strength or endurance of the adults or even of the 6-year-old we had with us.

As we began to hike back, it got me thinking. (An occupational hazard as a coach.) Where else in our lives do we buy into the story that something is going to be “hard?” The feeling can be especially strong when we aren’t sure where we are headed, how we are getting there or what the journey back will be like if it doesn’t work out. What if I can’t do this?

I witness this daily with phone calls from burnt-out, transitioning attorneys who can’t stand another day in the courtroom but can’t comprehend the unknown path to an alternative. The certainty of their misery is far less painful than how hard it’s going to be to get on a different path where we will guide them through all the uncharted territory.  I also see it in the attorney who needs to fire an underperforming, entitled employee who has been there since the firm’s inception. There is no named replacement on the horizon, or any certainty that the revenue will be coming in to support the transition. Same with the receptionist who is so very ready to share her ideas about marketing, and is eager to step up to tackle that role. But what if her vision doesn’t work out? What if the job is too much for her? What if the results don’t come immediately? Marketing people are often the first to get cut when funds get low.  

People tell us how hard life and business will be when we share where we are thinking of heading. And we believe it – so we don’t even get on the path. Consider the possibility that “hard” actually means something you’ve never done before that doesn’t have a map with a certain path carefully dotted from beginning to end.

Are you standing at the start of the path feeling oppressed with anxiety and uncertainty, and is that making the change feel like it’s too much work and too hard?

If you're an estate planning attorney and want to learn more about Asset Protection, Medicaid & VA, check out the agenda for our Practice With Purpose Program we're having October 20nd-22nd in Phoenix, Arizona.

Molly L. Hall, Co-Founder, Lawyers with Purpose, LLC, and author of Don’t Be a Yes Chick: How to Stop Babysitting Your Boss, Transform Your Job and Work with a Dream Team Without Losing Your Sanity or Your Spirit in the Process.