{"id":18368,"date":"2025-11-28T10:32:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T10:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/we-can-do-hard-things-answers-to-lifes-20-questions\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T10:32:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T10:32:46","slug":"we-can-do-hard-things-answers-to-lifes-20-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/we-can-do-hard-things-answers-to-lifes-20-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life’s 20 Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Look, I\u2019ll be real with you: My \u201cwe can do hard things\u201d era started at 2 AM in a Walmart parking lot, holding a melted Carvel ice cream cake. My kid was screaming because his birthday party got canceled (thanks, COVID), my Honda Odyssey needed new brakes, and I\u2019d just gotten laid off via a Zoom call that somehow still<\/em> used the \u201cyour connection is unstable\u201d notification. I felt like the universe had handed me a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s what I learned in those years of duct-taped solutions and Target runs at midnight: Hard things aren\u2019t obstacles \u2014 they\u2019re just life with the volume turned up.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The Stuff No One Talks About (But Should)<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. \n

    \u201cHow do I keep going when everything sucks?\u201d<\/strong>
    \nI used to think resilience was a trait you\u2019re born with \u2014 like being double-jointed or hating cilantro. Then I spent a summer painting houses in 90-degree Philly humidity. My boss, a guy named Sal who chewed Nicorette like it was mission-critical, told me: \u201cYou don\u2019t \u2018find\u2019 grit. You build it like Ikea furniture \u2014 awkwardly, with questionable instructions, and always<\/em> with extra screws leftover.\u201d<\/p>\n

      \n
    • What works<\/em>: Do the next 5-minute thing. Unload the dishwasher. Walk to the mailbox. Tiny wins rewire your brain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • \n

      \u201cWhat if I\u2019m failing at adulthood?\u201d<\/strong>
      \nLet me show you my 2017 tax return where I accidentally claimed my golden retriever as a dependent. The IRS did not<\/em> appreciate my creative accounting.<\/p>\n

        \n
      • What works<\/em>: Make a \u201cDumbass Wins\u201d list. Mine includes \u201cTaught kid to ride bike (after he faceplanted into a hydrangea bush)\u201d and \u201cDidn\u2019t cry during parent-teacher conferences (mostly).\u201d Progress > perfection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
      • \n

        \u201cHow do I stop caring what others think?\u201d<\/strong>
        \nLast year, I wore pajama jeans to a PTA meeting. Not my proudest moment, but you know what? The earth kept spinning. Dunkin\u2019 kept brewing. And I learned: Judgment says more about their<\/em> inner soundtrack than your outfit choices.<\/p>\n

          \n
        • What works<\/em>: Ask \u201cWill this matter in 5 years?\u201d Spoiler: Your cousin\u2019s opinion on your TikTok dances won\u2019t.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n

          The Kitchen Table Wisdom That Actually Helps<\/h3>\n

          On money stress<\/strong>:
          \nWhen my emergency fund was literally coins in a Folgers can, I started a \u201c$10 buffer\u201d rule. Every Friday, I\u2019d stash a Hamilton \u2014 whether from skipping Starbucks or returning late library books. After 6 months? $260. Not life-changing, but enough to fix a flat tire without panic-googling \u201chow to sell plasma.\u201d<\/p>\n

          On loneliness<\/strong>:
          \nDuring my divorce, I\u2019d sit at this retro diner counter in Jersey \u2014 the kind with jukeboxes at every booth. The waitress, Dot (78, smoked Pall Malls, called everyone \u201choney\u201d), once told me: \u201cConnection isn\u2019t about having people. It\u2019s about being<\/em> a person.\u201d Changed how I small-talked with cashiers, baristas, anyone.<\/p>\n

          On big decisions<\/strong>:
          \nMy mantra? \u201cFlip a coin. Your reaction to the result is your answer.\u201d<\/strong> Tried it when debating whether to quit my stable-but-soul-crushing job. Coin said \u201cstay.\u201d I felt physical dread. So I left. Best panic attack I ever had.<\/p>\n

          \n

          The Unsexy Truth About \u201cHard Things\u201d<\/h3>\n

          They\u2019re rarely Everest moments. More like:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Calling the doctor about that weird mole<\/li>\n
          • Apologizing when you technically<\/em> weren\u2019t wrong<\/li>\n
          • Eating vegetables when pizza exists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            I once spent 3 hours untangling Christmas lights while listening to my ex-mother-in-law\u2019s voicemails. Felt Sisyphean. But here\u2019s the magic: Completion creates momentum.<\/strong> Those lights? They lit up my kid\u2019s face like Times Square on New Year\u2019s. Worth every second of swearing at fused bulbs.<\/p>\n

            \n

            Your Homework (If You Want It)<\/h3>\n

            Pick one<\/em> \u201chard thing\u201d you\u2019ve been avoiding. Mine was scheduling a mammogram (ugh, the paper gowns). Do it before noon tomorrow. Then text a friend two words: \u201cDid it.\u201d No explanations. Just proof you\u2019re capable of more than you think.<\/p>\n

            Life\u2019s 20 questions don\u2019t come with answer keys. But we\u2019ve all got that scribbled-on, coffee-stained draft in our back pocket. Pull it out. Add to it. Laugh at it sometimes.<\/p>\n

            And if all else fails? There\u2019s always Carvel cake. Melted or not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Look, I\u2019ll be real with you: My \u201cwe can do hard things\u201d era started at 2 AM in a Walmart parking lot, holding a melted Carvel ice cream cake. My kid was screaming because his birthday party got canceled (thanks, COVID), my Honda Odyssey needed new brakes, and I\u2019d just gotten laid off via a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}