“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.” -JFK

“There’s no crying in baseball” is not the best line in A League of Their Own. Most memorable? Absolutely. But best? No.

And it’s not even close.

The line that overshadows it belongs in the pantheon of great pieces of insight into the human condition. When Jimmy confronts Dot about walking away from the sport, she tells him that it got to be too hard. His response is phenomenal: “‘It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t, everybody would do it. The hard is what makes it great.”

In context, it’s brilliant. Out of context, perhaps even more so.

Think on that: the hard is what makes it great.

As a species that is naturally inclined towards ease, what is it within us that compels us to do the hard, to pursue it, even at great risk.

Look no further for a recent example than the Artemis II mission to the moon (and back), which reminds us how a nation’s attention and imagination can be captured by action that testifies to preparation, ingenuity and courage. 

I cannot fathom how hard it is to send people to the moon and then bring them back, safely no less. Yet, that seemingly impossibly hard task captivated us. The focus,  determination, talent and guts compelled us and hopefully inspired people across generations to want to dedicate themselves to great achievement, though likely at a more accessible level..

The trouble with doing hard things is that, simply enough, they are hard to do. Unfortunately, hard things are easy to quit or just fat out avoid because it is also quite common to fail.

So why do it? Why choose to do something that, by definition, others are unlikely to do? Why take the challenge and risk failure?

The answer lies within each of us. My answer comes down to two words.

For a long time I argued that the secret to life is joy. It makes sense because joy feels great and is palpable to those who bear witness, but a few years ago I amended my position. There’s a next step to joy.

Now I contend that fulfillment is the secret to life, but that it can only be attained with joy. And therein lies the appeal of challenge.

There’s little joy to be found in the commonplace. If I turn the faucet and get water, I don’t feel any degree of elation. But if I struggle to find a solution to a complex situation, especially if I didn’t get to the end point within the first few attempts, I feel something real.

Isabel Allende’s observation that she hates writing, but loves having written applies to actions and activities in our own lives. Whether in your professional or personal lives, there are things for which the process is burdensome or painful to endure, but the product can be so fulfilling.

While most of us will likely never achieve anything as hard as going to the moon and back, we can all willingly approach the hard in our lives. The immediate payoff likely won’t be readily apparent, but we can encourage ourselves to take actions that follow the words of sources ranging from the youngest president ever elected to a character based on an alcoholic ballplayer or a brilliant novelist or even some educator sharing his thoughts from North Jersey. 

Just as people lift weights to build strength, we can build ourselves by embracing the onerous task of doing hard things joyfully and then feel the fulfillment of real accomplishment.