My mother-in-law sent a message to the family group chat a few days ago that went something like this: “Hey, there’s still a few weeks left of summer and I think we should all play a long-distance game together. Let’s all download a license plate tracker app, and compete to find the most state plates. It’d be a good excuse to check in periodically so that I know you’re all still alive and well.”

I was all in.

On family road trips growing up, the license plate game was a staple for car entertainment. Granted, we typically played the alphabet version where you’d find letters of the alphabet in order using only license plates, but the idea was still there. You still had to be on constant lookout, afraid that your sibling would snipe the license plate you were scouring.

Then on a trip out to Colorado in college, my professor and I played the alphabet game but with car models as we switched off driving duties. That competition was likewise fierce.¹

So, despite us not being on a road trip, I’m ready to win this battle. And I think my chances are good seeing that I live in a tourist destination. I’m up to six out of fifty states so far. Wish me luck! (Here’s the app I’m using.)

And I agree with my mother-in-law, it’s nice to have a specific reason to check in and stay in touch. I’m pretty bad about it otherwise — I just get caught up in all the other things to do. Maybe start a competition within your own family or friend group to round out the summer?

This is post #16/31 for Blaugust 2024.

Blaugust

Much like I think it’s important to do hard things, I also think it’s important to make yourself do scary things from time to time.

I’m a rock climber. I’ve been climbing for half my life. I earn a notable portion of my income as a rock climbing guide, helping people to get outside and try out this sport, often for the first time. I still get scared almost every time I go climbing.

Especially when lead climbing (when you’re climbing from the ground up and pulling the rope up with you, clipping bits of protection every so often, but risking significant falls when you’ve climbed above that protection), I waging a mental battle that often more fierce than the physical one of pulling myself up on tiny edges of rock. That battle is one to stay calm, manage my breathing, reassure myself that I’m in control and not going to fall, and just generally keep it all together enough that I don’t make silly mistakes that would lead to me falling and potentially hurting myself.

It would be easy to give up climbing so that I wouldn’t have to face that fear— no, that’s not right. It wouldn’t be easy because I do love climbing. But there are certainly times when out on the sharp end of the rope when I wonder why I put myself through that visceral fear, willingly, no less.

I’m not traditionally a thrill seeker. I like distance sports, not speed sports. I prefer running trails to mountain biking them. I have a healthy respect for moving water and will often wear a life jacket even when others do not. I’m conservative when it comes to finances, always wanting to have a little extra stashed away just in case.

But with rock climbing, I push myself to do the things that I know will scare me. In the past few days, I’ve been in the midst of that mental battle several times. I’ve stepped up to the plate to lead routes that I knew were at the edge of my ability and strength. I’ve fallen off one such route, falling onto a piece of protection that I had placed quickly and didn’t completely trust. It held. Instead of building an anchor and asking my partner to finish the route, I made myself give it another go even though I thought it likely that I’d fall off again. After we had to bail because of an unexpected rain storm, I went back on my own and set up a rappel to go back and retrieve the gear I had to leave behind — even though I wasn’t sure I was in the exact right place, that my rope would even reach the ground.

I think it comes down to trust in yourself. Trust that even though the thing is scary, you’ll be able to figure it out and be okay in the end. That you’re smart enough and capable enough to avoid disaster. That you can succeed despite being afraid. And each time that I prove to myself that I was okay, that I did avoid disaster, and that I am capable, the fear loses a little bit of its power. It builds character and allows you to pursue objectives that don’t seem possible at first.

So when people ask me about rock climbing and question, “Aren’t you scared?” I reply, “All the time.” It’s not whether or not you’re scared that’s important. It’s what you do while you’re scared, I think, that tells you more about the character of a person. And just like everything else, it takes practice to do well.

So go do scary things.

This is post #15/31 for Blaugust 2024.

Journal Blaugust

My (not so subtle) attempt to someday be a guest on “the podcast that always arrives precisely when it means to.”

⏱️⏱️⏱️

Dan Moren: Would you consider a Mac mini in its rumored new even smaller form factor?

I’m a current Mac mini user (the M1 version), and I adore it! The Mac mini’s appeal has three parts. First, the BYODKM (Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard, and Mouse) factor. You can just drop it into an existing desktop computer setup and basically be off to the races. Second, it’s historically the more affordable Mac. Third, its small size makes it accessible to use in places where most other desktop computers just wouldn’t fit. Entertainment centers, storage closets, mounted under desks; the list goes on.

But with the downsizing of internal components needed for Apple silicon Macs, the current Mac mini — despite it being pretty small already — has a ton of wasted, unused space inside its enclosure. And, as Letterkenny has taught us, if you can only be one thing, be efficient. So getting rid of that space to scrunch down the Mini’s size is a-okay by me. Users will be able to put them in ever more places. However, I do feel for the server farms that have racks of Mac minis that will have to adapt.

All that said, I’m probably not in the market for a new Mac mini even though I’d be a fan of its more diminutive size.

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Stephen Hackett: What are your thoughts on Apple requiring Patreon to pay the 30% App Store commission for its creators’ in-app memberships?

This is a hairy topic that needs more than a few flippant paragraphs, but in a nutshell, I’m disappointed in Apple. Moreover, I think it puts a big ol’ spotlight on the notion that Apple’s App Store fee programs need a complete rethink for the year 2024. Really, they should throw the existing rule book in the bin and start over with a blank page.

One of the troubles of this situation is that Apple has that rule book to begin with. And if they don’t want to be accused of playing favorites or being unfair (unequal?) in its business dealings (and it certainly doesn’t because that’s how Google lost its app store monopoly lawsuit), they should be striving to apply the rules the same way across the board. That Patreon has historically not had to pay the commission is an oversight and an example of Apple not applying the letter of its only rules fairly.

But it’s egregious that the rules were written that way to begin with. And now that they’re enforcing their rules, it’s hurting Apple in the court of public opinion during a period in which their relationship with developers and creators is already frayed. I don’t see how Apple comes out ahead, reputation-wise, one this one without some pretty sweeping changes to how the App Store business agreement works.

⏱️⏱️⏱️

Mikah Sargent: Tell us a little about your notification habits. Schedules, badges, focus modes — what do you do (and don’t do) to sort through them?

My notification habits have changed over the years. I used to let anything and everything through. I’d use Do Not Disturb, but sparingly. These days, I use a little bit of everything to fine-tune how my attention can be grabbed by apps on my phone.

First, while I am pretty liberal with giving apps a chance with notifications — what if they’re helpful? — I’m not shy about turning them back off if they start to annoy me. I’d actually like more controls in every app about which kinds of notifications are allowed.

Second, I use Focus modes to restrict who and what can break through. My main modes are ‘Sleep’ which I turn on manually when I set my alarm each night, and ‘Do Not Disturb’ which I’ll flip on if I’m in a meeting or other environment that I don’t want to be distracted.

Third, I’ve started to adjust how notifications are allowed across devices. I used to think I should have all the same notification settings across my devices. But that just means I was dismissing the same ones over and over again on my phone, Mac, and iPad. These days, I hardly have any notifications enabled on my Mac or iPad, everything just comes through my phone (and watch, by extension) instead.

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Shelly Brisbin: Do you think that Apple should be happy about Rivian adding Apple Music support as opposed to CarPlay?

Personally, I think every car should offer CarPlay and Android Auto support. Customers love them, and it would be a huge bummer to purchase a car without their support after having it for years and years.

That said, I understand why automakers are starting to resist it because they want to own the whole experience. Much like Apple wants to own and control the whole experience of using an iPhone.

But the question was should Apple be happy about Apple Music support coming to Rivians. And I think no. I find it super unlikely that anyone is going to become an Apple Music subscriber just because their car has support for it. They just going to use whatever music solution they’ve already had for their Rivian (Bluetooth, phone speaker) if they’re not already Apple Music subscribers. It’s not going to (hehe) drive new subscriptions to Apple Music.

Apple would be happy if Rivian jumped on board with next-generation CarPlay, but that sure ain’t gonna happen!

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Bonus Topic: What is your go-to travel snack?

I’m not afraid of a crunchy or crumbly snack. I eat of lot of chips and popcorn in the car on long road trips. For air travel, it’s usually some sort of bag of chips or crackers purchased under duress at the airport. But I’ll always make room for the complimentary snacks the flight attendants offer.

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Overtime Topic: What non-support tech interaction do you remember from a parent or older friend?

From the moment my friend Robert pulled out his Palm Treo at a Scouting campout, I was sold on gadgets and technology. Seeing how you could organize and communicate with such a small, personal, and portable device was like seeing the future. That fascination turned into a love for the iPhone when it came out, as well as for macOS and Macs, which Robert also let me play with. I eventually was given Robert’s old MacBook Pro as a gift — perhaps the best gift I’ve ever received — and his old iPhone, which we used to text and iMessage constantly. Robert was very generous with his technology, and without him I would not be writing this blog today!

Until next time, watch what you say, and keep watching the clock. Bye everybody!

This is post #14/31 for Blaugust 2024.

Crashing Clockwise Blaugust

Morning

A fairly normal morning in the shop. I arrived at 8:45am and got things opened up, set bikes out front, and pulled in eBike batteries to recharge. Organized the rental bikes so that the road and gravel bikes were all on one side and the mountain bikes on the other. Caught up on guided trip requests and scheduling them on the guide calendar. Spent the rest of the time entering new products we received into our inventory/POS.

I clocked out at 12:15pm and then heated up my leftover Chinese food to eat on my drive over to the Baker Mountain trailhead where I would meet my clients for…

Afternoon

A half-day rock climbing adventure that they had booked. This was my fifth time climbing with this family. The grandparents booked their granddaughter weekly climbing lessons with me for a month. We spent the first two sessions indoors, working on movement. The next two weeks were outdoors having fun on real rock, and learning the basics of belaying and how anchoring works outdoors. The grandpa always climbs, while grandma watches.

For this fifth session, I took them to Baker Mountain, which I consider my home crag. It’s in the town where I live, and is pretty accessible via a 15 minute hike. I like it a lot for clients that have at least a little background because it two beginner routes, three intermediate ones, and one quite challenging climb. It’s rare for someone not to find something that pushes them.

Today was no different. After doing a belay review with grandpa and granddaughter, they belayed me while I led up one of the easy climbs to set up the anchor for a top rope. They each played on the easier climbs (5.4 and 5.6) for warm up. Granddaughter flew through them, and grandpa had fun figuring out an efficient way up. Then granddaughter was ready for the harder stuff. I climbed back up, reset the anchor, and then rappelled down so I could belay her on one of the intermediate climbs (5.7+).

This route pulled together everything she had tried so far — face climbing, crack climbing, and even some overhang — and it proved to be the challenge she needed. Instead of flying up the route, she had to reason her way through the best way forward. She took time to hang, scout things out, and try different techniques to make progress. In the end, she was probably on the rope for close to an hour, and while most folks would have given up long before that, her determination was absolute. She did eventually make it to the top, but I’m sure she’ll want to go back to get it more cleanly.

I had to climb once more to retrieve the anchor, so maybe she’d picked up on some tips watching how I climbed the route. (I’ve done that particular climb dozens of times.)

We hiked back to the cars, made plans to get them out climbing again next month (yay!), and said goodbye. I headed home to feed the pets and grab my wife’s eBike so that I could…

Evening

Ride the 11 miles back into Lake Placid to catch the last live music show along the lake. The weather was perfect, and I didn’t want to miss out.

It was my first time riding my wife’s eBike for that kind of mileage, and having the pedal-assist sure was nice for commuting. I wouldn’t want to use an eBike every time, but if the objective is to get from Point A to Point B (and not specifically for exercise), the electric motor helps get you there faster, and you arrive less sweaty.

After locking up my bike by the music amphitheater, I wandered up and down Main Street looking for a restaurant where I could get a quick sandwich for takeout. I didn’t find one, but I did pick up some chocolates for my wife (who had a bad day at work) and a box of novelty-flavored popcorn (salt and vinegar, hint of lime, and dill pickle). As I wandered back to the music, I popped into the pizza shop to find that they sell pizza by the slice. Perfect grab-and-go food to enjoy out on the lawn in front of the show.

I plopped myself down to enjoy my slices, the popcorn, and conversation with a friend who happened to be seated right in front of me. And the music of course! It was a nine-ish person band playing what I’d call “dad rock”. But they were energetic and talented. My favorite bits were the solos played by the trombone, trumpet, sax, and electric guitar players. They played right up until 9pm, at which point the huge crowd dispersed, I grabbed my bike and started the long journey back.

Probably because it’s mostly downhill on the way back, but the return trip didn’t feel like it took very long at all. The eBike’s battery held out (with some babying of it) riiiight up until the very last bit of the huge hill that leads up to my house. I thanked the bike for its service as I peddled sans assistance the last few hundred yards.

As I carried the biked to our back deck where we can recharge its battery, I spooked my wife who heard my rummaging and thought I might be that bear, back for seconds. It’s been a notably good day, with tomorrow promising to be just as good. I’ll be taking a different family out climbing for the third year in a row, we’ll probably jump into a lake when we’re done, and then I’m planning on doing some personal climbing with a friend in the afternoon on some routes that are new to both of us.

But first, sleep.

This is post #13/31 for Blaugust 2024.

Blaugust Journal

So you remember how I installed that smart bird feeder camera a few days ago? Well, I filled it up with birdseed the next day and was delighted to see it capture videos of cute birds coming in for a snack.

But birds aren’t the only thing hungry around here it seems.

When I checked the camera feed the next morning, I was shocked to see this furry little massive face looking back:

That’s right, I happened to set up the camera just in time to catch a black bear rolling through our neighborhood, and boy was he excited to find our new snack bar. According to our camera, he stood at the “counter” munching on birdseed for an entire hour! From midnight to 1AM, he was stuffing his adorable face!

Apparently he was still hungry by morning because he was caught on camera again, this time pulling down our old bird feeders to see if he could snag anything more. At some point, he much have laid or pounced on the spherical feeder because it’s pretty smooshed now.¹

I’ve got so many of these short clips saved. I love looking at his big ol’ snoot rummaging around for those tiny seeds. And him rolling his squat legs in the air, giving off Big Pooh Bear Energy I have half a mind to put up a sign that reads “Black Bear Snack Bar”.²

I’ve worked as a mountain guide here in the Adirondacks for over two years now, and I’ve yet to see a bear out in the wild. But here one was, right in my own backyard.

This is post #12/31 for Blaugust 2024.

Blaugust

A weekly list of interesting things I found on the internet, posted on Sundays (or Mondays if I fall asleep early and forget to publish). Sometimes themed, often not.

1️⃣ This would indeed be a perfect Deadpool moment. [🔗 threads.net]

2️⃣ This animal/human safety Instagram filter sounds like a “What if we just tried this?” sort of thing that comes out of a team brainstorm, and I love it. [🔗 Sheena Vasani // theverge.com]

3️⃣ I’m not a coffee drinker, but I found Steve Ledlow’s post about his coffee ritual to be just delightful. [🔗 tangiblelife.net]

4️⃣ These colorful light-up display cases look sick! I kind of wish I had a use for them. [🔗 Andrew Liszewski // theverge.com]

5️⃣ Vidit Bhargava fashioned an awesome Walkman that only plays music while you’re walking, and made a fun, 80s-style ad for it. (This explainer is short, but his social post about it is even shorter.) [🔗 viditb.com]

6️⃣ I can’t say I know too much about Tim Walz, but I certainly like this website that indicates he brings big dad energy to the campaign. [🔗 timwalzfixedyourbicycle.com]

7️⃣ I’m excited to implement some of Alvaro Montoro’s one-liner CSS tricks to HeyDingus. [🔗 alvaromontoro.com]

Thanks for reading 7 Things. If you enjoyed these links or have something neat to share, please let me know. And remember that you can get more links to internet nuggets that I’m finding every day by following me @jarrod on the social web.

This is post #11/31 for Blaugust 2024.

7 Things Blaugust

Speaking of home gadgets, I just watched Jennifer Pattison Tuohy from The Verge run through Google’s home products announcements. There’s a lot that I like with what they’ve done on this go. I’m not going to recap everything from their video, I just want to share my favorite bits that I’d like to see some to more home products — so you should watch it yourself.

TV Streamer with “Favorite” button and remote finder. Google took a page from Apple’s book and ditched their Chromecast dongle strategy, replacing it with a more traditional set-top box. But it’s quite mini, and I like the wedge shape that makes it stand out even less sitting in front of your TV. The fact that the box has a physical button to activate an alert sound on the remote is genius. The remote itself has a “Favorite” button that the user can customize to open certain apps or actions. Yes, let’s put Action Buttons on all the things!

Redesigned Nest Learning Thermostat. Sounds like Google got the message that the last “lite” version of the Nest Thermostat wasn’t very well received. And while they’ve done the biggest redesign of their flagship version in 13 years, I’m pleased to see it retain a lot of its iconic design. The rotating ring remains for navigating the interface, and it’s quite sleek overall. They’ve done a good job making it fit in with more of Google’s hardware products too. The other nice improvement is more explanation available for users to understand why the Learning Thermostat makes the decisions it does regarding heating and cooling the home.

Google Home with Gemini Inside. Quick hot take: I think Google would have been better served to roll their AI stuff into the existing ‘Google Assistant’ branding like Apple is doing with Siri and Apple Intelligence. Because it replaced Bard, I think of Gemini as a text assistant, whereas Google Assistant is more all-encompassing. Anyway, the Google Home app/system is getting Gemini smarts for describing scenes your cameras see, and to more easily set up automations. Both are great ideas. The first, I’d prefer if that processing was done on-device, but if you’re already cool sending all your camera views to Google then you probably don’t care. The second, the demo looked like something Siri should be able to do as well once it’s infused with Apple Intelligence, but that remains to be seen. I think helping users configure smart home automations — tricky enough at baseline, and notoriously hard with Google Home — is a great use for AI.

This is post #10/31 for Blaugust 2024.

Blaugust

My wife has been back in Michigan to visit her parents for the past few days and the buddy who was supposed to come visit me wasn’t able to make it, so I’ve had a little extra time on my hands. You know what that means: catching up on home chores! I’ve cleaned out the fridge, put up lights and switched out bulbs, configured the last couple of Apple Home remotes that I’ve been meaning to get to, and more. But the most exciting thing I did was set up a couple of neat gadgets that have been waiting for my attention.

Oasis Mini

This little guy was an Indiegogo project that I backed over a year ago. To be honest, despite their periodic updates about development and productions, I was never quite sure if I’d been scammed or not. I thought it just as likely that I’d never get the product in my hands. But much to my delight, the box finally showed up on my doorstep about a week ago.

It’s an automated sand art device that uses a magnet to move around a small metal ball that pushes fine-grained sand into abstract designs. You’ve certainly seen the type before. The Oasis Mini is about 12-inches in diameter — perfect for a side table — and has many RGB lights around its interior circumference. Between the rotating lights and little waves of sand, it’s pretty trippy to look at!

The whole thing is controlled and automated through an app. You can load up “playlists” of designs for the thing to cycle through creating, adjust the lighting, speed up or down the ball, and more. I find it mesmerizing to watch, and I’m fascinated by how the lines for each design are sequenced so that the early ones aren’t ruined by the later ones. They all work together to create the intended picture. I’ve already spent a couple meals watching it rather than the TV or my phone.

I just might have to dial down the RGB lights — the overall effect almost makes me a little dizzy!

Safevant Smart Bird Feeder

This thing I should have installed months ago. It was a Christmas gift that I got on a killer deal (like 75% off on Amazon!) for my wife. It’d been sitting in our dining room since December, waiting for the birds to return… and then I forgot about it. But all is well, I spotted it when cleaning things up and added it to my Power Puttering (™ Merlin Mann) list.

The “smarts” of this bird feeder is the camera that sits at its center. When birds (or other hungry critters) perch to eat, you get a front-row view of the action with a live feed to your phone. And when you opt in to its (pretty reasonably priced at around $50/year) subscription plan, they’ll use “AI” to try to identify the bird and give you some fun facts about which kinds are coming to feast. Even more, you can use the thing as a security camera with person, vehicle, and package identification, trigger an audible alarm and flash a light, and intercom through it’s built-in microphone and speaker. The camera has infrared for at night, and the whole rig is powered by a solar panel and integrated battery.

It remains to be seen how it holds up over time, or even how well the bird identification works since I only just put it up tonight. But the quality seems good, the app is well-made, and all-in-all it’s quite the package for the $81 I paid for it.

At the moment, I’ve got it rigged up in the backyard near our other (dumb) bird feeders, but maybe we’ll try it in the front where we could use it as that dual-purpose security camera. I’m excited to learn more about the birds we visiting every day and hope my wife gets as much joy from it as I expect I will!

This is post #9/31 for Blaugust 2024.

Blaugust

My (not so subtle) attempt to someday be a guest on “the tech podcast where we’re finally reunited and, boy, does it feel so good!”

Mikah Sargent: What is a gadget or other piece of tech that everyone should own?

I’m sure there are many things I could answer for this topic, but I’m going to go with the one that immediately jumped to mind and it’s the one item that’s always in my pocket (other than my phone): AirPods (or other wireless earbuds). For eight years now, a set of AirPods have been in my front right pocket and they’re still one of my favorite purchases of all time. Being free of the cord is so liberating with no snags or tangles, and makes listening to music and podcasts an effortless joy.

Plus, with AirPods, you get the pleasantly smooth-like-a-river-stone case to fidget with as a bonus.

P.S. After Dan’s answer, I’m just a slight arm-twist away from clicking ‘Buy Now’ for a paper shredder on Amazon.

Emily Dreibelbis: What is your tech strategy for planes?

Speaking of wireless earbuds, those are a must for travel. However, I’ll usually try to bring a pair with noise cancelation (either Beats Fit Pro or AirPods Max) to get some peace on the flight. Air travel can be stressful, so my longstanding rule is “No work on the flight”. It’s a nice opportunity to get in some personal entertainment. That means I’ve usually got my YouTube Watch Later queue and other TV/movies downloaded to my iPad, and often my Kobo is loaded with plenty of eBooks. Honestly, it can be hard to choose what to watch or read with so many options.

Another tech strategy of note is having all my documents and itinerary saved to a singular Apple Note for easy offline access. I use the Flighty app for updates about the flight/gate/etc. And my luggage has an AirTag to keep track of it, although I’m not convinced it does much more than add another opportunity to stress when checking to see if the luggage also made it onto the plane.

Dan Moren: What are your first impressions of Apple’s new Distraction Control feature in Safari?

I think it’s great. We’ve had Safari Reader built in for years and years which gets rid of all the elements of the webpage besides the text in one fell swoop, so I don’t think Distraction Control will be detrimental for websites. Plus it’s largely a manual process that appears to be specifically designed not to interfere too much with dynamic ads. I think the web will survive, and I’ll be glad to dissolve away many of those elements that prevent me from reading the actual content on websites. Websites have had years to be better about not covering up content with garbage, and they’ve done the opposite instead. (That animation is pretty cool too.)

Matthew Cassinelli: Are there any apps that you’re looking to control entirely with Siri and use with Apple Intelligence?

I’m all for more apps getting robust Siri and Shortcuts support, of course. But I’m having a hard time thinking of an app that I want to control entirely through those layers of abstraction. I like using different UIs and seeing what developers come up with to make their apps their own. So I’d probably still dive into apps for fun, even if I could do everything with my voice.

That said, I hope we’ll see more robust intents and actions for Apple Music. It’s shocking how long they’ve resisted putting more capable actions for searching and acting upon specific songs and albums from their catalog. I was sure we’d see something like the old Beats “The Sentence” feature show up in an Apple Intelligence demo, but it remains to be seen if I’ll be able to tell Siri to build me a playlist based on an arbitrary feeling like I could a decade ago with Beats Music.

Bonus Topic: Would you rather go to space or the bottom of the ocean?

I’d absolutely want to go to the heights of space over the depths of the ocean. I know the ocean is under-explored, but I’ve held a fascination for space and the cosmos for just as long as I’ve held a general foreboding about the dark depths of the sea. I’d love to experience the weightlessness of zero gravity, knowing that at least once I’d escaped its pull.

Overtime Topic: Do the endless, repeated permission prompts help with security?

I don’t think I’ve seen a single person who thinks the weekly permission prompts for things like screen recording on macOS Sequoia is a good idea. And I’m certainly not the first. I’m with people like Jason Snell, Nick Heer, and John Siracusa who think that a constant barrage of those dialog boxes are a usability nightmare, a “cover your ass” and responsibility-shifting tactic, and are insulting to users’ intelligence and agency. And I think they condition us all to ignore and automatically click through such prompts so that get on with what we’re doing on our computers. In other words, they eventually have the opposite intended effect.

Matt Birchler suggests a reasonable compromise in that the prompt is repeated with an option to allow forever, or repeats monthly. Weekly is way overkill.

Until next time, watch what you say, and keep watching the clock!

This is post #8/31 for Blaugust 2024.

Crashing Clockwise Blaugust

The next time you find yourself about to phone it in on a goal, shirk a commitment you made, or just plain give up, ask yourself something: Are you the kind of person who only does easy things? Or are you a person who can do hard things?

I spent a couple of days this week doing some rock climbing guiding for a group of young women on a YMCA camp trip. They had just spent six days hiking the 50 miles of the Cranberry Lake Trail, and without a day off, then rolled into two more days of trekking with me out to rock climbing crags to scale walls all day. Their mantra to one another was “You can do hard things!” Anytime someone was contemplating coming down before reaching the top or being self-deprecating, the phrase was pulled out: “You can do hard things!” When the counselors waffled on trying a climb themselves, again: “You can do hard things!” If they’d given their all and decided to come back to the ground, a slight variation was used: “You don’t always have to do hard things, but it’s important that you know that you can do hard things.”

It was heartwarming and inspiring to observe these young women lift each other up (sometimes literally) with positive encouragement. They recognized they each had vast strengths, especially when supported by their peers and role models. And they reminded one another that a life spent doing only easy things is hardly a life at all.

Sometimes the hard thing is scaling an 80-foot rock wall using only your hands and feet. Sometimes it’s speaking up with confidence and conviction to make yourself heard. Sometimes it’s getting out of bed to the goddamn stretches and push-ups. Sometimes it’s saying “I was wrong and I’m sorry.” Sometimes, as it was for me today, it’s powering through a 13-hour hike with a smile on your face and excitement in your voice while egging on your exhausted clients, even though your own knee feels like it’s on fire with every step.¹

Doing the hard thing isn’t always fun. It’s often not the thing you want to do. There may be many reasons for you not to do the hard thing. But there’s almost always a good reason that you should do the hard thing. And I hope you remember that you can.

Update: Greg Morris was kind enough to link to this post, and he shared how it reminded him of the concepts of misogi and sumikiri (doing nearly impossible things in order to reach clarity and flow). It’s a good post, and now I have a new book on my to-read list.

This is post #7/31 for Blaugust 2024.

Blaugust