Difficult Doesn’t Mean Bad

 

Two years ago, I ran a marathon. It took four months to prepare and four hours, fifty-seven minutes and twenty seconds to complete.

It was difficult. Running is hard. It’s not technical, it’s just hard. It’s not quantum physics hard. It’s digging ditches hard. Anybody can do it, but it’s difficult. Did I mention how hard it is yet?

The trouble with our perception is that we sometimes confuse hard with bad. We can look back on a period of time that was difficult and automatically label it bad. A difficult financial year, a difficulty with our health or a dip in business are labeled as bad.

The difference between bad and difficult is how it leaves you. Bad leaves you worse off than when it found you. Difficult leaves you better off than when it found you.

The running was difficult, but not bad. It left me in the best shape of my recent life and gave me confidence I hadn’t felt in years. 

Maybe the difference between difficult and bad is simply our perception of the events and whether or not we consider the gains instead of the losses.