"Hard Now/Easy Later" Exercise

Whether we like it or not, hardship is a part of life. Learning to deal with it in productive ways—to use it as fuel for gaining new skills, capabilities, and knowledge—is the key to exponential growth, and it’s what separates successful entrepreneurs from unsuccessful ones.

It’s also a way to find meaning in our struggles and stay confident, even in times of uncertainty. 

That’s why Dan created the "Hard Now/Easy Later" tool. It’s a simple way to not only retain your sense of purpose during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, but come out of it better and stronger than you were before.

How to use the "Hard Now/Easy Later" tool: 

1. Identify three things about the current situation that have made your life difficult, personally or professionally.

2. Explain why it’s made things difficult.

3. Identify what these present hardships will make easier in the future.

4. Explain why they will be easier. 

5. Based on these experiences, develop three new rules you’d like to put in place moving forward.   

We don’t always get to choose our circumstances, but we do get to choose how we respond to them. Why not choose to transform them into opportunities for future growth?

In the video above, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller share their insights about the Hard Now/Easy Later tool and the best, most productive ways to use it in difficult times.