Nat Eliason tweets…
When a teenager asks why they need to learn calculus, what should you say?
You know they will never use it in adulthood, outside of certain career choices.
[…] But I recently realized there is a very good reason to take Calculus. It’s to prove you can do hard things.
The ability to do hard things is perhaps the most useful ability you can foster in yourself or your children. And proof that you are someone who can do them is one of the most useful assets you can have on your life resume.
Agreed.
Too often we look for shortcuts, the easy way out.
But intentionally pushing yourself to take on challenges – whether mastering calculus, running a marathon, or writing a novel – builds real mental muscle 🧠
It shapes your self-image and gives you confidence to take on new difficulties down the road.
Nat continues…
Our self-image is composed of historical evidence of our abilities. The more hard things you push yourself to do, the more competent you will see yourself to be.
If you can run marathons or throw double your body weight over your head, the sleep deprivation from a newborn is only a mild irritant.
If you can excel at organic chemistry or econometrics, onboarding for a new finance job will be a breeze.
On the flip side, avoiding hard things makes even minor obstacles seem impossible…
We’ll cry into TikTok over an errant period at the end of a text message. We’ll see ourselves as incapable of learning new skills, taking on new careers, and escaping bad situations.
If you don’t yet feel like a person who can do hard things, find ways to change that…
Build a habit, learn a skill, create something, whatever it is that turns your default stance on challenges from “that seems hard” to “I can figure it out.”
Related: Nat is the same guy who built a $4000/month longer lasting sex app 😱
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