The Hardest Things Are Often the Most Rewarding
The hardest things in life are often the most rewarding.
I was grateful to share that message with incoming students at Harvard University because I had lived it myself. When I began pursuing a Master’s in International Relations from Harvard University through Harvard Extension School, I was in my early 40s, running a business, and about to become much more familiar with my own limits.
I remember sitting in my first seminar and wondering whether I belonged in the room. That feeling never completely disappeared, and I eventually understood that it did not need to. Sometimes uncertainty is evidence that we are stretching beyond what is familiar.
The hardest classes taught me the most. The hardest marathons, including the one I ran in North Korea, remain among the experiences I remember most clearly. The hardest conversations, especially the ones I wanted to avoid, often produced the strongest relationships.
Difficulty alone does not make an experience worthwhile. A meaningful challenge connects effort to purpose. It asks us to develop a skill, serve another person, finish what we started, or become more capable than we were before.
That is why I would tell any incoming student not to wait until confidence arrives. Confidence often follows action rather than preceding it. Show up. Ask the question. Submit the work. Seek help. Continue when progress feels slower than expected.
A demanding experience can change the direction of a life because it changes the person moving through it. We may begin focused on the credential, finish line, or outcome and discover that the deeper reward is the discipline, humility, and resilience developed along the way.
Ganbatte, as they say in Japan. Keep pushing forward. The challenge in front of you may become one of the experiences you value most.
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