Embracing the Grind: Hard Times Equal Great Lessons
“Hustle until you no longer have to introduce yourself.”
- Unknown
How many of you have been in a position that seemed like there would be no end to the trials and tribulations, so much so that you felt that you just needed to get up and walk out?
I think we all have been there.
But how many of you hung on one more day, and then one more day, and another and another until the hate became a passion?
In life, we often find ourselves wading through some hard times. Whether personal challenges, professional struggles, or challenges out of our control, the phrase “things will get worse before they get better” resonates deeply. It’s a hard truth that we all wrestle with at one time or another. What we learn through the grind is that what we are going through will one day allow us to face any adversity with resilience and hope.
The Bamboo Tree
The other day, I saw a motivational story on social media that used a bamboo tree as an example.
The story said that a person planted the bulb of a bamboo tree. Every day they had to water and tend to the young seedling. Day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year, there were no signs of growth. The person went out in every type of weather, never seeing any payback for their struggles.
Then, one day, the tree broke ground. In six weeks, the tree grew to 80 – 90 feet tall.
If the person who planted the seedling had walked away at any point during that process, the tree would have never grown. Because they dealt with the daily grind, hoping that all the work would come to fruition one day, the bamboo tree did grow.
This parable speaks to our journey through the daily grind. Often, we must endure periods of discomfort and struggle before we can see the reasons for the hard times. Sometimes, the growth is unmeasurable, but the demands are backbreaking. Nevertheless, we must continue working through the hard times, knowing they might not improve for long periods. When we continue grinding out day after day, we will ultimately find our reward.
Young and Hungry
One of my clients is a young high school coach. He is always talking about “When I become the head guy,” “Why does it take so long?” and “Why do they have me doing all the ‘dirty jobs’?”
I sit and smile, reminding him that “it’s going to get harder before it becomes easier” if he keeps fighting the process.
The process is a grind for a reason. The difficulty he is working through will help him to be empathetic when he gets into a position of power. He will understand the “why” behind many of his questions as he grows within the system. But there is no accelerated avenue to get around the process.
When I got into coaching, I thought I knew everything. I took some hard losses and had to pay my idiot taxes for trying to skip parts of the process.
After a while, I became a student of the profession and learned more by listening and asking questions than by yelling and stomping around, blaming everyone for my struggles. It took me eleven years of showing no signs of growth. And then I won my first national championship. My career jumped 80 feet in one season.
The grind is there for a reason. When we learn to embrace it in our profession, we can grow professionally and become who we are meant to be, but we must be willing to suffer the growing pains that go along with every worthwhile endeavor.
The Promise of Tomorrow
As difficult as life’s challenges may seem, even spiraling out of control, they are often the rocket fuel we need to bring about tremendous change and growth.
This will only happen if we approach each “dirty job” with an open mind. The next time you question your passion on your journey, remember the bamboo tree and the young coach who isn’t ready to sit behind the big desk … YET. Understand that things might get worse before they improve, but embrace this idea with every fiber in your body because every storm eventually passes, leaving clearer skies filled with promise. The key lies in enduring the grind, finding meaning within, and ultimately believing that, eventually, you will have the opportunity to grow 80 feet and become all you were meant to be.
Have an amazing day!
