The Importance of Doing Difficult Things
We’ve all heard our favorite influencers repeat the moniker, “Easy times create weak men, weak men create difficult times” or some iteration of it on social media. People like Wim Hof and David Goggins have built entire careers around the core of this truth.
There’s nothing quite as gratifying as pushing yourself through those psychological barriers, beyond your perceived limits. Very quickly you learn how much your own mind limits your potential. Making a habit of doing difficult things in your life will not only make legitimately tough times seem easier but it will also eliminate many of the fears that make us vulnerable in life.
Following this practice of doing difficult tasks will allow you to achieve things that you might have never imagined. Living life this way leaves you with a deep sense of satisfaction that is otherwise largely absent from our modern world. We can all do so much more than we think we can.
My father raised my brother and I to do difficult things on a regular basis. Dad took us on ten mile hikes, twenty mile bike rides, and all kinds of other extreme activities before we were even teenagers. After the first few times it began to feel normal and before long the challenges became something that we actually craved. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thanked my father for raising us with this mindset.
There’s no denying that a good swath of humanity has lived in relatively “easy times” for the past half-century and you can see evidence of it everywhere. This is why this video by the YouTuber’s Kara and Nate filled me with hope and excitement when I watched it.
The video also was a spark that lit a fire within me. About a dozen or so minutes into watching Kara and Nate tackle walking 50km a day I looked at my wife and said, “I’m doing this!”. So began the process of me spelunking into yet another rabbit hole…De 4Daagse (or The 4 Days Marches in English). Thanks Kara and Nate!
Just yesterday I received my 4Daagse registration number so it’s starting to feel more real.
Walking 50 kilometers per day for four days straight. I have no doubt this is something I can accomplish with the proper preparation and training. I’ll have until July of 2025 to prepare what will then be my future 54 year old body. Thankfully, I found this invaluable training advice on the interwebs.
In the above mentioned article I found snippets like – “During the 4 Days March, I burned around 8,500 calories a day. During my training, I burned around 5,000 calories a day” and “....get good at popping your own blisters so you don’t have to wait in line at the medical stations.” that made me seriously question the wisdom of this particular life choice.
A lot of things in my universe will have to align for me to be able to travel to The Netherlands and go and accomplish this next July but I will start training as if it will definitely happen. I’ve even bought the shoes I’ll be wearing. Putting this idea out into the universe via this blog post feels like a huge step in the right direction.
Has anyone reading this participated in The 4 Marches or plan on trying it in 2025? If so, I'd love to hear from you.
What was the last difficult thing you accomplished? How did it make you feel?
Be well and make the most of this day. Thank you for reading!
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I want to walk at least one or two kms in the evening of some days in a week as summer ended and it has become cooler.
That's good! I hope you can do it!
Good luck man!! You totally do have to challenge yourself. Keeps you fresh!
Thanks man! It certainly makes life more interesting. How did your daughter's surgery go? I hope well!
It went ridiculously well. She was meant to take two weeks to recover and we sent her back to school after a week. She just bounced back within days. Made me quite jealous!
I'm happy to hear that! The procedure should make a huge difference long term as well. Those kiddos sure can bounce back quickly!
They can indeed, an adult would be laid low for weeks after that!
Wow, that is kind of nuts. How many miles is that per day? Like 32? Something like that? You know, I got thinking after your opening sentence I don't really have any favorite influencers because I don't usually watch that sort of media. I've done some long walks before, but nothing close to this. I doubt I have even biked that far in one day, even in my prime. I do wish you the best of luck! I hope you make it over there to participate!
They have a 20km, 30km, and a 50km course and the 50k is a little over 30 miles. I haven't made my mind up yet which one I'll do. My brother and I walked about 25miles a day when we were in Montreal and except for a few blisters we both did pretty well. Thanks!
That's great! I read the training thing, you have to wear boots? Is it like one of those combat things? If you did 25 in Canada I say you at least push for 30k. I used to do the race for a cure thing in downtown Columbus each year. I was part of the walking group, but one year I did the whole thing with my niece in a backpack carrier on my back.
No, the guy who wrote this is actually in the military I think. I did some research and found a thread on Reddit about shoes. The Alta Lone Peak seems to win out. It's a trail running shoe that isolates against blisters pretty well. 30k seems like a good distance for the first one. That might be the one distance I settle on. Those organized events can be fun! Wow, I bet that was a different experience with the weight on your back. How did you do?
I did okay. I was a lot younger back then though! They really only have you walking a mile or two I think, so it wasn't too bad. So is this 40k each day for four days or 40k across four days? I started second guessing my understanding of it after I read the post.
This is either 30k, 40k, or 50k (you choose the route) per day over four days. So a total of 120k, 160k, or 200k. I'm really leaning towards that 30k per day range now after thinking about it. If I really enjoy it I'll sign up again and try the longer route.
Dang, okay.
It's so cool that you signed up for De4Daagse. I've already picked my challenge for next year and started training; it will be my first marathon 😊 I read the training guide you shared; super valuable. One of the hardest things I've achieved so far is graduating as a Rescue Diver while doing all my exams in murky water at 12 degrees Celsius.
Congrats on attempting your first marathon! I was thinking of training for that when I turned 40 but never managed to accomplish it. I was very happy I found that training guide. That will be like my bible as I prepare. I watched my nephew train for two years before going into US Marine boot camp and it made all the difference for him. I can't imagine the Rescue Diver certification was easy!
This is a very inspiring post, truly it is our mind that limit our potentials, we really can do anything if we set our heart to it and yes, when we do difficult things all the time, we train ourselves to face tough times fearlessly and courageously.
Thank you!
Easy times creates weak men but hard times creates strong men.
So true!
Good for you. It's a worthy goal. 30 miles walking per day is really achievable with enough training. I ran a 50k in 2015 in 6 hours that was around Spokane and largely level. My trail runs in the Kettle crest were 34 miles in 11.5hrs and 35 miles in 9.25hrs. You just need to find or build a solid training plan and stick to it as much as possible. My training impetus was maintaining a daily streak which by default got me in great shape, too bad I broke the streak with injuries and couldn't get myself back to training.
Thanks! That's a good time for a 50k! This same YouTuber (Nate) just did the Leadville, CO 100 ultra marathon. I think he finished in just under 13 hours. I think success will definitely boil down to proper training. It's a pretty big commitment, as you well know, but I can't imagine life without some of these kinds of challenges from time to time. Are you back to 100% injury-wise now?
The 100s are just insane, I know a number of people who have finished them but that is just too much for me. In 2017 Gunhild Swenson, who I've run with locally, finished the Western States with 6 seconds left before cutoff, and she did that at 70 years old. I haven't run in a number of years but am getting myself back to it slowly. I seem to always be injured in some fashion so it's more about managing the pain and effort levels while still progressing. I gave myself over to the farm and am in the process of extracting myself from the burdens to have more time to get back to running.
I just couldn't believe what that does to peoples' bodies and minds after watching the video. Then there were some people who appeared to sail through it at a nearly superhuman pace with no problems. Amazing your friend did that at 70! That's inspiring. It's good you're getting back at it but I'm sure the farm is keeping you in good shape too.
The differences in people is huge many times. I remember I was at about 35k of the 50k heading into the last loop and watched the lead runner heading to the finish line and it looked like he was barely working. I was dragging ass and still had 15k left to go.
The farm has done me well at keeping strength but my endurance is not the best. I've kept my hiking legs with paragliding but really need to get my ass running again.
A good option for training is finding some 5k races near you to enter. Small goals lead to bigger goals and it's not about winning but the training and experience of it.
Yeah, some peoples' level of fitness is just off the charts. I've started supplementing with 3mg of creatine daily to help with endurance. From what I've read it really helps. I need to work on the endurance as well. I've done fewer long bike rides but do climb up/down seven flights of stairs for 20min three times a day along with kettlebell exercises and burpees.
Good idea about registering for a 5k. Those will be few and far between in MN until spring but would be a good motivator for me.
I bet there are more races than you think. We have runs every month through winter with our favorite the Frostbite 5k in January. Last year it got canceled due to sub zero temps and the course workers had to be kept safe but that is a rarity, we've run it in the teens F temps prior years.
I was very wrong...it took him just under 30 hours:
I grew up in a family whereby we were exposed to difficult things at the early stage of our life. At first it was looking like wickedness but we never knew it was building us up
We didn't always appreciate my father's extremes either, he really pushed us sometimes. Now I'm so glad he did.
Walking 50 km every day is very difficult, it takes a lot of time. I have never walked so much in my life. unbelievable
walking, mountain climbing and cycling are exciting activities. I think you're used to it. Have a nice day, Eric.
Wow! This is a very inspiring post. I wish I could be as active as you. I don't think I've ever walked so much in life and in saying that, I'm not happy. Buying the shoes you will wear is a perfect way to tell the universe to get everything lined up for that date and you can go to the Ámsterdam next year. I hope you'll share with us all the training you'll be doing to get in shape. I'm going to see if I start walking on Monday, you've inspired me. Hugs, my friend
Thanks Nancy. Winter is difficult for me because I've never been a huge fan of winter sports. That's how I viewed the shoe purchase too, letting the universe know I'm serious about it. I just wore them for the first time today and I get why everyone was recommending them for this walk. They're super comfortable. I'm glad this post inspired you! Let me know how the walking goes. I hope you enjoy what's left of the weekend!
I have two words for you, Good luck. Reading about it made me feel weak in the knees.
Thank you. We'll see how wise this is in the end. Sometimes my brain writes a check my body doesn't want to cash. Lol.
I think @borniet did something similar recently but it may have been a different event. We will watch the you tube it looks great
It'd be great to hear about his experience if he tried it!
This is quite a challenge Eric, but I know you will stick with the program and succeed. Good luck my friend. I'm sharing this with my son!
Sorry, I know it sounds harsh, but many people today are too lazy to get out of their comfort zone. Working towards something makes reaching that end goal so much sweeter!
Thanks! Yes, just thinking about doing this makes me smile. There's no greater sense of satisfaction that setting these kinds of goals for yourself and achieving them. I feel sorry for people who don't attempt difficult things because they never feel that euphoria. I think getting there for those four days might be a bigger challenge for me than the actual event but I'm optimistic I can make it happen. I was hoping my brother could join me on this walk but he can't be away from home for a week due to his job. You'll have to let me know if your son has heard of this! I'd never heard of it until watching Kara and Nate's video. Roeland was aware of the march but he grew up in The Netherlands.
50 a day for 4 days sounds quite the milestone. There's one challenge in Brazil (that happens to be literally outside my door) where people walk the entire coastal length (biggest beach in the world, totaling 225 kilometers). Average pace is between 30-35 kilometers per day carrying all the camping gear and water for at least 8 days. Record time is 27 hours by ultra runner Vitor Rodrigues. Anyways. Only mentioning this to say that you've got this.
That sounds like an incredible challenge! Thank you for the support!
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All the very best to you friend. I know this is not easy as and when we get older, but probably the confidence and will power is more than enough to continue with this journey.
I can at max do 21 a day and not sure if i would be able to do it next day. It needs immense endurance, needs serious preparation before hand.
Resistance trainign and endurance game does help in such challenge.
As you said earlier, indeed, Easy times, create weak man. If our life is eays, we should be happy, but mentally and physcially we should be prepared for tough times.
Cheers