Following my previous point about small steps comes perhaps the biggest excuse of all: avoiding things because they require serious effort.

Timothy Keller nailed it:

“Work—and lots of it—is an indispensable component in a meaningful human life. It is a supreme gift from God and one of the main things that gives our lives purpose.” (From “Every Good Endeavour”

However, we’ve been conditioned to view hard work as punishment rather than an opportunity. We want instant gratification, quick fixes, and overnight success. When something demands sustained effort, we suddenly find it less appealing than binge-watching Netflix or scrolling social media.

Here’s a perspective shift: What if the hard work is where the real value lies? What if the struggle lies in developing the character to handle success? What if the mountain climb is where you build the strength to enjoy the summit view?

Every difficult task is an opportunity to improve, acquire knowledge, build momentum, and grow into the person you’re meant to become.

The question isn’t whether you can avoid hard work – you can’t, if you want meaningful results. The question is whether you’ll embrace it as development or resent it as drudgery.

Your vision must be valuable enough that its screams drown out the complaints of hard work. If what you’re building could impact, save, or transform lives —and inevitably, communities —then the effort becomes sacred.

Stop running from difficulty. Start running toward the transformation it offers.