An overachiever’s greatest struggle could lie in accepting one of life’s strongest truths.

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“This should be easier.”

These 4 words imply that whatever issue we’re bumping up against represents something “wrong” with us and our current situation. We assume that life should be picture-perfect, devoid of challenges or hardships.

Wishing life was different, better, or easier leads in one direction – stress/anxiety.

Accepting our current situation lessens our frustration with life’s issues and reminds us that this is part of being human.

One of my favorite authors, M. Scott Peck, says it perfectly in his bestseller The Road Less Traveled:

Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult – once we truly understand and accept it – then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.

As the ancient Buddhist saying reminds us, “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.”

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—CJ McClanahan

Speaker | Advisor | Recovering Overachiever

CJ McClanahan