Do the Hard Things

A Canadian entrepreneur who has had a variety of ups and downs in his career describes his ideas for how to move forward in life and in business by tackling things head on rather than acquiescing or doing the comfortable thing. Morris’s central argument is that the hardships we try to sidestep are often exactly what we need in order to grow; a world built around comfort and convenience can leave us poorly equipped when real adversity arrives.

It’s not simply a call to grind harder or toughen up, though; Morris draws a clear distinction between struggle that strengthens us and exhaustion that leads to burn-out. He shares anecdotes from his own life as well as from research, philosophy, and other self-help authors in the space. Some of the chapters move easily among different ideas; with titles such as “Fear, Avoidance, and the Lies We Tell,” and “Resilience is Born in the Fire,” casual readers and browsers willl be drawn into the conversation. There is even parenting advice: “Raising Strong Humans in an Easy World.” Some might argue that events in the world are beyond the definition of “easy,” but his points are good ones.

Brisk chapters are short and concise but readers can and should pause between chapters to consider applications for each of the themes presented. Most chapters offer a follow-up activity for reflection on how the theme might be applied to real life. This would be an excellent book for anyone looking for strategies to make changes in their life on either a personal or professional level. Although it is clearly aimed at adults, it leans into usefulness at a high school or college library where people are looking to make changes in their lives.