Choose Your Hard

Read Time: 3 Minutes

Growing up, it was about this time of the year when me & my friends had a choice to make.

I played American football in high school and university, and July is a critical period for training- lifting weights, running, etc.

It also happens to be a very hot time of the year.

So we each had to choose our hard.

We could deal with the hard part of training in the heat, sacrificing beach trips and air conditioning.

Or we could take it easy. For now.

And feel the full force of the hard that would come when Fall camp started.

I’m proud to say I always chose to train in advance, which allowed me to enter camp in great shape so that I didn’t struggle during practices in full pads.

Some of my friends, however, refused to properly exercise during the hot summer months, and they suffered greatly when football season began and they weren’t physically fit enough for the challenging practices we had together.

As you can see, it was hard both ways.

But we got to choose which hard we experienced.

Now, a quick example of a time when I chose the other hard.

I had always felt a pull towards joining the military.

But when I came of age, I couldn’t quite get myself to commit.

I had all the reasons/excuses in the world- I had just gotten married, we had a child on the way, etc.

But I also was afraid.

I was afraid of the hard that would come with being away from my new family.

So I never ended up joining.

At this point in my life now, I’m beyond the age requirement for new enlists, so it will never happen for me.

And I’m left to deal with the hard that comes from not knowing what could have been.

It ended up OK for me, because I found my calling to work with international students and help them through their own hard.

The hard that comes with uprooting your life to come to the United States.

The hard that comes with being in a new land with different customs and rules for basic living, like grocery shopping or getting a driver’s license.

The hard of the unknown- of not knowing how the journey in the U.S. will go and if you’ll ever get that work visa or green card you’ve been dreaming of.

I’ve helped literally thousands of international students through these types of hard.

But the hard I can’t help with is the one that comes from never taking that chance.

Yes, there will be challenges, there will be unknowns, and there will be a struggle at time.

Read that again- challenges, unknowns, struggle…

Which are all also exactly what’s required for an adventure.

It’s what’s required to Live Your American Dream.

So, which hard will you choose?

Josh