We are often faced with difficult situations. We can face them head on but we often have a choice to take an easy way out. And sometimes we can sidestep them completely.

There are many reasons why it's nearly always right to embrace the hard stuff.

Firstly: difficult things usually aren't as difficult as they seem. The hard part may be starting, especially if it's a large project without a clear goal (remember you can make a project less daunting by starting with the first step). Or it may evoke an emotion that we instinctively want to avoid, such as confronting a friend about a disagreeable behaviour, or having a difficult conversation with a work colleague. As we put these things off and they remain on our to-do list—or worse, in our heads—they grow in difficulty each time we decide not to do them.

It makes sense that we may prefer the easy path. Hard things are hard, and they use up energy, time and our focus. We may fail, and hard things often have bigger consequences if we do.

There are also consequences for taking an easy path or ignoring a hard one. Not confronting your flatmate about behaviour that irritates you ever so slightly will lead to a large festering issue and much bigger problems. Habitually late people won't consider all the aspects of getting ready to go somewhere, the journey and their previous behaviours that have resulted in lateness, and as such will continue to overpromise their timely arrival and not be there when expected. Not starting a project before it gets close to a deadline, or worse, not starting one that doesn't have a deadline, means you'll endure much more stress than necessary and won't make the long-term progress in life that you want.

Difficult things are often more rewarding. Activity trumps passivity. The feeling of achievement only comes after completing a challenge. “The Things which hurt,” Benjamin Franklin wrote, “instruct.”

Taking on hard things is a skill. You strengthen your grit by practicing, by leaning into your obstacles. This makes future challenges feel less difficult, and gives you the facility to take on even trickier tasks.

It also widens your skillset so you can take on more things. This gives you the ability to combine different skills and widen your worldview as you learn. You should always aim to maximise your slope.

Our default behaviour is to take the easy option and deciding not to do something is a decision in itself. If you want to increase your skillset, make progress on your long-term goals, increase the frequency of achievement, and avoid the consequences of sidestepping life's challenges, then lean into the hard stuff. You always have a choice, as Epictetus says: "every situation has two handles".

But be self-compassionate, and be careful of pushing yourself too far. Hard things are hard, they take energy you don't have infinite resources of. Remember to always be kind to yourself.