There is one thing about my life that I sometimes take for granted and that is the speed at which I typically pick things up. Call me a natural athlete or an attentive learner, what I set my mind to I usually pick up with some ease. This adaptability is so engrained in my expectations of life that when it doesn’t play out the way it typically does, I go into a mini state of shock. I am brought to my knees in humility each time that I remember what it’s like to struggle, especially when I struggle with something in which I wish to excel. In this case: Excel itself.
For some blasted reason, my mind hates financial registrars, reconciling funds and creating spreadsheets. Actually, that’s not fully accurate. I love looking at such things and making sense of them however, my mind is not adept at the skill of actually creating and managing them myself. Unfortunately for me, an entrepreneur with a business plan and a big dream, I don’t just need to master Excel and QuickBooks, I have to. Even after extensive tutorship (ie. about eight hours of one-on-one) from one of my mentors, I closed the laptop on my spreadsheet today. Frustrated and battling feelings of inadequacy, I let impatience win, but only for a short moment because I don’t have a choice, I have to open my chart of accounts and face the beast that makes me want to give up. The Coldplay song said it best: Nobody said it was easy, so why would I expect anything less.
I refuse to be the type of person who only wants what is easy in life. It is in the hard stuff that the real us is given opportunity to shine. I may cringe every time I open QuickBooks or Excel, but they will not get the best of me or permit any doubt to linger in my head. Doubt may enter for a moment, but it is not invited to stay. It’s good to be forced to practice perseverance in the midst of data that doesn’t quite make sense, because in reality, the world itself doesn’t always make sense. Train your mind and your heart to carry on towards greatness and, when self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy sneak their way into your brain, kick them out.
Pursuing anything of great worth is never easy, and is always, always worth it.