In a recent 3PGC grounding group, facilitator Jacqueline Hollows mentioned that she and her husband had just moved house.   She admitted that it was hard, exhausting work, but she did not feel particularly stressed about the relocation.

It reminded me that we often fall into the trap of thinking that just because something is hard work – moving to another home, building a business or learning a new job, stress is a given.   I can fall into that trap myself as I work to refocus my business.

Hard work comes from the physical and mental effort it takes to deal with change and achieve the desired outcome. Stress, on the other hand, is optional.   Stress and overwhelm come from thoughts about the effort not the effort itself.  Thoughts like…
‘It’s taking longer than it should’
‘I don’t have what it takes’
‘This is a bad idea, what was I thinking?’
‘I’m too old for this’
‘This I too hard’

We create artificial pressure to perform in a way that is unrealistic, set unworkable deadlines for ourselves and others or don’t take into consideration the unforeseen and inevitable hurdles in any venture.  Self-imposed stress and pressure can even make the hard work more arduous, negatively impacting performance, and having you feel even more discouraged and drained.

Do what you can do, in the time it takes to do it and acknowledge what you have accomplished daily or weekly.  Over time, you will notice that you have made measurable progress. Perhaps the ‘hard work’ will just become ‘work’. And you can do that.