Do You Need a Reminder that the Good Things are Worth It? Here You Go.

This is a friendly public service reminder.

It could be for you too specifically. Sometimes it can be helpful to review inconvenient facts. So here we go.

The shortcut is a lie.

Anyone who says there is a shortcut is selling something.

It doesn’t really matter what it is. Relationships. Career. Fitness. Parenting. Health. Friendships.

The easy route does not exist the way we hope it does.

If we want to be in a loving relationship, we need to be or become the type of person who attracts that type of relationship. It takes working on ourselves, confronting demons and building skills and abilities. It takes compromise and cooperation.

These things can be hard.

If we want to enjoy a successful career, we must develop our abilities to think, create, improvise and build relationships. This takes time and effort. People know when you are bullshitting them.

Bringing the energy, attitude and a constant desire to improve every day is hard.

If we want our bodies to feel good and strong and capable, we must spend the time working and sweating. We must make consistently decent choices when it comes to diet and what vices we indulge in.

Winning battles over oneself is hard.

If we want lots of good, positive friendships in our lives, we must be good and positive friends to others. This involves spending time on things that are not our own priorities. This involves subjugating our ego.

This is hard.

All of these things are hard.

But here is some truth: the alternatives suck far worse.

Choose wisely.