As humans, when we face a problem that seems so large and impossible, we declare defeat before we even begin. This is natural because we inherently have a desire to be successful. We want to feel like a winner and being a champion or accomplishing something difficult brings a sense of satisfaction. Why do people climb mount Everest or die trying? Its because they want that feeling of: I did this. I was a part of this. I can do hard things.

As we look at the work we have to do, and the job’s we are tasked with, a sense of accomplishment is also important. Without it, we feel dissatisfied and long for something with more meaning. When we cannot see the bigger picture and understand the point of a task, we feel unmotivated, and even depressed in our job.

I was recently watching an Actors Roundtable discussion and really liked the comment made by Adam Driver (56:05), “… you think that you need (to), certain things need to be in place in order for you to do your job. And then, none of that’s true.”

Sometimes we want to blame our inability to perform our job on others. Ultimately, its up to us to figure it out, make something move, find a way to make progress and carry on with the task at hand. If something seems impossible, break it into smaller pieces and work on those one at a time until the larger task becomes doable.

Do you have a huge project or something that seems really hard? Ask yourself how you can work with your teams or individually to break down projects, prioritize what needs to be done and make progress against the goals. As you do so, I promise you will start to feel more personal satisfaction and enjoyment in the work you perform and those you interact with. I have found by using this method we can do hard things and be proud of what we are building.