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How to Do Hard Things
Sometimes almost impossible is just the right amount of difficulty
Most people go through life without doing anything really hard.
Sometimes the low-hanging fruit is the only fruit that we end up picking.
But what about the hard things — the things that seem almost impossible? Should we try to do them? And if we try, will we be able to actually do them?
Should we be afraid of something just because it is hard? Not at all.
Should we attempt to do the near-impossible? Yes.
A world that only solves easy problems would eventually be very difficult to live in. Eventually, we need to confront the problems that seem impossible.
And most people never even consider that the hard things could be the most valuable — or even satisfying. Difficulty can be inherently valuable, if you know how to do difficult things.
Want to Improve? Make It Harder
Most of us don’t like tests that are hard. But what if harder tests actually made us better?
In his book David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell describes a test developed by professor Shane Frederick. The Cognitive Reflection Test, or CRT, measures the ability to understand when a…
