“You’re not just the iron. You’re also the blacksmith"
Reflection:
There are seasons where life feels heavier than it should. You're doing the work but the results aren't showing up. You're trying to stay disciplined but you're tired. You have a goal in front of you yet the distance between where you are and where you want to be feels like it's getting bigger instead of smaller and eventually you start questioning the struggle itself. Why is this taking so long? Why does everything feel so hard right now? Maybe I'm doing something wrong.
I've been thinking about that a lot lately because I think we have a tendency to look at difficulty as evidence that something has gone wrong or we are not doing something correctly and if we're struggling we assume we're falling behind but maybe difficulty isn't always a sign that you're failing... sometimes it's a sign that you're being asked to become someone different and finally absorb the habits of that "future" you. Think about what happens when something is forged. The material doesn't come out of the process looking the same as when it went in. It has to be exposed to heat, worked, shaped and put under pressure. From the outside it can look like a destructive process but the purpose isn't destruction. It's transformation and that distinction has been sitting with me for a long time. (Hence the reason it is one of the foundations of the podcast)
I'm not saying every difficult experience is good though and I'm not saying you should romanticize suffering or convince yourself that every bad thing happens for a reason. Some things hurt simply because they hurt and sometimes you need to walk away. Sometimes you need to rest. Sometimes you need to admit that the thing you've been forcing isn't actually meant for you but there are other times when the difficulty is simply the price of becoming more capable and those are the seasons we often misunderstand.
We want the result but we don't always want the process that creates the person capable of carrying the result which I have said in a recent episode. We want confidence without uncertainty, discipline without resistance, strength without having to struggle and growth without having to outgrow the version of ourselves that was comfortable. What I have noticed time and time again is that it doesn't really work that way. The person you're trying to become is built by asking one question: "Would the version of me I'm trying to become choose this?" Every choice is a vote for who you're becoming. One choice won't change you but the same choice made again and again compounds like interest. You become that person through the accumulation of decisions they would make.
The older I get, I've started thinking differently about the small things. One workout isn't going to transform your body. One productive morning isn't going to transform your life. One decision to keep your word to yourself doesn't suddenly make you disciplined but those moments matter because eventually they become evidence. Evidence that you can trust yourself and evidence that you can follow through. That's the part we don't always see while we're in it. We're so focused on whether we've arrived that we forget to notice who we're becoming along the way and maybe that's the better question: not "When am I finally going to get there?" but "Who am I becoming while I get there?" That question puts some of the power back in your hands. You may not control how quickly the goal arrives and you may not control every setback or how long the process takes but you can control what you practice today. You can decide what habits you're reinforcing, what you're willing to tolerate and whether today's difficulty becomes another reason to quit or another opportunity to build.
You're not just the material being shaped. You're also holding the hammer and you have a say in what you're becoming.
So if you're going through a difficult season, pay attention to what it's asking of you. Maybe it's teaching you patience. Maybe it's teaching you that you need internal work. Maybe it's forcing you to become more resilient in order to hold that things that future you holds. Maybe it's showing you that you can't keep relying on motivation. Maybe it's teaching you to stop looking for the perfect moment and start respecting the small action that's right in front of you.
Whatever the lesson is don't waste the season. Imagine a book with no way to turn back the page. How careful would you read it? That's life. You don't need some massive breakthrough today you probably just need today's strike: the workout, the conversation, the page, the early morning or the decision you know you're supposed to make even though nobody is going to applaud you for making it. That's how something strong gets built... not all at once but through repetition, consistency and the willingness to keep showing up when the process isn't exciting and if you're in a season right now where you feel like you're taking hit after hit I hope you don't automatically interpret that as proof that you're breaking. Take a step back and look at what the pressure is asking of you. Look at what it's teaching you and look at who you're becoming.
The goal isn't to get out of the fire as quickly as possible. Maybe the goal is to come out of it different and that future you who is stronger, more disciplined, more capable and more certain of who you are. You might not be where you want to be yet but that doesn't mean nothing is happening. Remember you're not breaking. You're being made.
⚔️ 3 ACTIONABLE STEPS
1. Name what this season is teaching you.
Write down one thing your current season is forcing you to develop maybe its discipline, patience, confidence, resilience, consistency or something else. Don't just focus on what you're going through. Identify what you're becoming because of it.
2. Take today's strike.
Choose one small action you've been putting off and do it today. It doesn't need to change your life. Finish the workout, send the message, make the call, spend 20 minutes on the project. Stop waiting for the perfect moment and handle what's directly in front of you.
3. Keep your fire tended.
Tell someone you trust what you're currently working through or working toward. Spend time around people who encourage you to keep moving instead of pulling you back into old habits. You don't have to forge alone.
⚔️ Step into the Forge. Listen, reflect and grow.
What if the pressure, setbacks and difficult seasons you're facing aren't signs that you're breaking but signs that you're being shaped?
In Episode 22, I explore what it means to keep showing up when the process gets hard. We talk about the small repetitions that build us, the person we're becoming through the struggle and why you don't have to go through the process alone. The goal isn’t to escape every difficult season... sometimes it’s to let the season shape you.
Ready? Step into the Forge. Hit play on YouTube below or listen on Spotify.
MindForge Podcast Episode 22 Link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ref5oq5wsqZZUpqEJEgIz
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