“The shortcut is doing the hard thing you don’t want to do. The longer you delay, the longer the path.”
—Shane Parrish
Let’s say you’re on a road trip. You’ve got your destination punched into the GPS, your favorite playlist queued up, and a cooler filled with snacks in the backseat. The route ahead is clear: a straightforward, smooth highway leading you straight to your endpoint. Sounds great, right? Except there’s a catch. This route involves a steep mountain pass that’s known to be a tough climb. A little scary, definitely challenging. So, you consider an alternate path. It’s a longer, winding road that skirts around the mountain entirely. It’s easier, safer, but it’ll add hours to your journey. What do you choose?
That’s the choice we often face in life and work. There’s the challenging path – the one that involves confronting fears, taking risks, tackling difficult tasks. It’s like that steep mountain pass, daunting but direct. Then there’s the easy path, the one that allows us to avoid the hard stuff. It’s safer, more comfortable, but it’s also circuitous and time-consuming.
Choosing the easy path might seem tempting. We all like comfort and security, after all. But remember, every moment spent circumnavigating the mountain is time not spent reaching our destination. The longer we delay the hard tasks, the more we procrastinate, the further we drift from our goals. It’s an ironic twist: the shortcut isn’t the easy route around the mountain; it’s the hard climb over it. The path of resistance, though intimidating, is often the most direct route to our destination. In the long run, confronting our challenges head-on doesn’t just save time; it fosters resilience, instills confidence, and propels us forward.