I think this week I want to talk about a quote from Emerson which is worth keeping in mind. It goes something like this:

That which we persist in doing becomes easier; not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do has increased.

That concept is something we regularly have to come to terms with. On one level, we must always take the time to recognise that where we are today and what we accomplish now, is something that we would have thought never possible. So, appreciating that we have overcome our limitations to achieve what we have is always a worthwhile activity. For me just recently, I couldn’t have imagined taking care of a dog, but now a number of months in, I can say that for me it is a breeze.

The same applies when it comes work, I was so nervous when I started out in close contact tracing because I had never done anything like that before. However, after a few weeks into the job, my experience gave me the confidence to do the work with ease, to the point it became like second nature.

The other aspect we must remember about that quote, is that the things we are finding hard at the moment, will in time become easier. The important thing to note in the quote, is that the task itself hasn’t changed in difficulty but instead our ability has increased. This increase I ability is core to developing ourselves as people in any aspect of our lives and should be something we seek out.

Always remember my Hedites that doing the hard things in life actually makes life easier, while the opposite of that statement is also true.