Always Do the Hard Thing

Today, I had a reflection on how many people lack real skills and competencies today, mainly because when learning something new, they tend to focus only on the easy parts. They shy away from the tough challenges that would actually build their capacity.

Let me take you back to our school days. I remember how, in primary and secondary school, the difference between those who were good at math and other key subjects and those who struggled often came down to how they practiced. Many stuck to the simple exercises at the beginning of the textbook and never attempted the harder ones. So when it was time for tests or exams, and the questions got more complex, they were lost. Meanwhile, those who consistently tackled the difficult questions had trained and drilled their minds. Their thinking patterns and problem-solving skills had been shaped to handle challenges with confidence.

The same principle applies beyond academics. Today, many young people only want to do what’s quick, easy, and doesn’t stretch them. They celebrate shortcuts. Yes, we should all learn to work smart, no doubt. But working smart is not the same as avoiding the hard things. True smart work involves understanding the hard things so deeply that you can simplify or optimize them, but not ignore them.

Unfortunately, what we now have in many cases is a generation of “simple” minds, people who lack depth, grit, and real competence because they’ve trained themselves to avoid difficulty. That’s why you sometimes meet graduates with big certificates who can’t handle real-life problems in their field. There’s a growing skills mismatch between what they claim to know and what they can actually do because they stayed comfortable with what was easy.

I remember when I was in higher institution, Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos, and we were preparing for a test in Management Accounting. On that day, one of my classmates walked up to us with a scenario. He said something like, “You think you’ve read everything? What if the lecturer decides to twist things and bring something like this?”

Then he presented an ACCA-type question, a kind of complex illustration that combined two scenarios in one. It wasn’t something we had seen before, and even he didn’t know how to solve it at that point. But he wasn't there to give us the answer. His aim was to challenge our thinking, to push us to ask, "What if a question like this shows up? How will you handle it?"

There were about four or five of us in that discussion. And though none of us had a ready solution, I personally took that challenge seriously. I sat quietly and thought it through. I didn’t write anything down, but I began to mentally map out a logical approach, what steps I would take, what assumptions I needed to clarify, and how I could potentially arrive at the right answer.

It wasn’t about having the full solution there and then. It was about training my mind to stretch beyond what I was used to — to prepare for the unexpected. I didn’t dismiss the question with “They didn’t teach us this in class,” like many others might. I gave it a shot.

Sincerely, I don't know if it was God using him or coincidence, but that exact style of question turned out to be the first and most important question in the test, carrying the highest mark. But because I had already engaged with that type of question mentally before entering the hall, it was a walk in the park for me. I already had the strategy in my head. I didn’t need to start from scratch.

That moment taught me something powerful: even in the shortest moments, when you choose to embrace challenges instead of avoiding them, you prepare yourself for bigger wins. Thinking through a problem, especially the hard ones, builds your capacity and confidence. And it pays off, big time.

That experience reminded me that what holds many people back isn’t necessarily a lack of knowledge or resources; it’s a habit of avoiding difficult things. When your default mode is to reject challenges, you rob yourself of the growth that comes from doing hard things.

Just look at the world. People are exploring Mars, building self-driving cars, and launching rockets. These aren’t just outcomes of having resources; they’re outcomes of people willing to think hard, attempt hard things, and grow through them.

So, let this be a reminder:

Don’t just do the easy thing. Do the hard thing.

Easy things feel good now, but they don’t stretch you. Hard things feel painful now, but they prepare you.

If you really want to grow, rise above mediocrity, and become competent in any field, remember, always do the hard thing!