Do you tackle the hard things first?

…or do you let them linger until you feel them looming?

Since experiencing some knee trouble, biking has been my preferred aerobic exercise. Luckily, I have a bike and can easily take it out for a spin. However, there is a hill by my house, and whenever I go on a ride, I have to bike up this hill first. This fact alone often deters me from going on a bike ride. But, when I gather the courage to bike up the hill, the rest of my ride is smooth, and I often regret not going sooner.

It’s important to face the big thing up front. Don’t let anticipation and anxiety take the joy away. Instead, consider always climbing the hill right away instead of feeling it loom over you.

Or as Nike says, “Just do it.”

My mother always said, “If you stress too much about something before it happens, you basically put yourself through it twice.” Stressing about something makes it doubly hard. You have the uncomfortable feeling of stress on top of still having to do the onerous task.

Implementing my mother’s sage advice, we can all take steps to avoid getting worked up before something stressful. Imagine what you would have “room” to take in throughout your life if you didn’t expend your energy worrying about something before it even happens.

Sometimes a hill is just a hill, and the climb is much easier than the illusion we create in our minds. And most of the time, what’s at the top is much better than remaining below.