This past month (October) marked the second challenge for the growing Project Endure community called the Hard Things Club. True to the name, we strive to do hard things to grow as individuals but also as a group. For October, we did an increasing number of daily push ups (initial number and rate of increase were self-selected). If you know me then the next part of this sentence will not surprise you – I started the month with 100 push ups and will end the month with 1,000 push ups. I couldn’t help but test the limits and in total, I will do10,001 push ups in the month (average = 322.6 push ups).
This blog is written with four days remaining in the month and I still have 3,401 push ups to go (I have zero doubt that I’ll complete). This blog is less about the push ups and more about the Hard Things Club (which I would love to have you join).
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When I left my job in the summer, I wrote a blog about Project Endure expressing that I knew the feeling that I wanted to chase but couldn’t see the details of how to get there. To be specific, here’s what I wrote on 7.25.21…
To me, Project Endure is a movement aimed at helping people find strength in their struggle, embrace endurance with direction and be persistent with a purpose. If I’m being honest, I don’t know what Project Endure will look like down the road, but I do know that it’ll touch people, it’ll change people and it’ll help people. I trust that action creates clarity and that sometimes the best things unfold as they go. With that mindset, I’m setting the wheels in motion and planning on doing a lot of learning along the way. This is just the beginning and I hope that you’ll follow along.
Three months later, with a whole lot of forward movement behind me, I agree with what I wrote and it’s getting more clear with each passing day. I created the Hard Things Club to help people take actionable steps toward building resilience, practicing persistence and developing perspective. The idea is to do hard things to demand commitment, encourage consistent action and build character. Most importantly, the Hard Things Club is an inclusive community where people can do hard things alongside other people. It’s a place where people can show up for themselves so that they can better show up for others. I hope that it becomes a place where friendships form and people feel welcomed. In the end, I want the Hard Things Club to be a community of people who want to be the best versions of themselves and want the same for those around them. It’s a place where people do hard things with soft hearts.
While I was doing my push ups this month, I couldn’t help but feel encouraged that I wasn’t doing them alone. In the moments of pain, exhaustion and frustration, I felt full because I was showing up even when it was uncomfortable and other people were doing the same. Throughout the month there was a growing sense of obligation to give my best effort because my actions would undoubtedly affect the others in the group. In fact, I thought often about how our actions, both public and private (no matter how small or seemingly insignificant) impact the people around us. That happens because what we do on a consistent basis becomes who we are. The hard (or soft) things that we do today shape who we are tomorrow. Those thoughts kept me going with a smile on my face and that’s what this is about.
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Thank you for taking the time to read these words and entertain a somewhat insane idea. The Hard Things Club starts with individuals but it’s bigger than that and once again, I would love to have you join if you’re crazy enough….
“Those who dance are considered insane by those who can’t hear the music.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
Do Hard Things.
Joe Rinaldi
IG: @joearinaldi
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