Hard Things
How To Hack Your Brain to Do Hard Things
How can you hack your brain to do hard things?
How can you overcome resistance to finally do the hard things you know you need to do in order to progress towards your goals in your life and in your business?
In this article, I break down the 5R process to beat resistance and hack your brain to do hard things.
The 5 R Process to Beat Resistance
1. Resistance mastery
The first step is resistance mastery.
That initial feeling of resistance before you do anything hard is biological and totally normal. Your brain doesn’t want you to do extra effort because it costs energy to your body, so it tries to prevent you from energy depletion.
Resistance will show up every single time you want to do something hard: whether it’s physically demanding, deep work, or mentally challenging.
The first rule here is to accept and anticipate it: You know you will feel resistance just before diving into deep work, exercising, or doing anything that matters.
Then break it into tiny, tiny steps. This concept comes up all the time because it works. If you plan on writing a whole 10-page document, start with the first paragraph. If you want to work out, just put on your exercise clothes. Make it easier on your brain by lowering the leap.
The last part around mastery of resistance is to do nothing else. Set the action you’re going to take and do not allow yourself to do anything else until you’ve made progress. Even if you don’t feel like it, wait until the resistance lowers and you begin. Sometimes it’s seconds, sometimes minutes, but boredom will eventually push you to start.
2. Reward
The second step is reward.
Today we struggle more with hard things because our dopamine is often unbalanced. We get small dopamine hits from easy activities like scrolling or watching videos, so the brain questions why it should put in effort for hard work.
When you process what you’ve done in a way that allows you to feel greater reward, you release more dopamine. Workouts and deep work naturally bring satisfaction, but you can take it further by celebrating progress, feeling joy, and sharing with others.
Overcoming procrastination gives you a bigger dopamine surge, which makes you want to do it again.
3. Rewire
The third step is to rewire.
Rewiring enables you to feel differently about hard activities, so that you actually want to do them.
Methods for rewiring include:
Change the way your brain thinks about hard activities.
Visualise yourself doing the activity and feeling good while doing it.
Surround yourself with role models and mentors who take similar actions.
Join a peer group working on similar goals. The more you’re inspired by others and connected to a strong purpose, the more your brain craves the activity.
4. Reframe
The fourth step is to reframe.
See discomfort and hard things as discipline and growth moments.
Each time you overcome discomfort, you step into a new identity. When your brain no longer labels the activity as danger, you’re more likely to take action. Sales calls, for example, may be uncomfortable at first, but reframing them as growth moments changes your relationship with them.
To build momentum:
Create strong rewards to increase dopamine from hard work.
Use visualisation and role models to rewire your mindset.
Surround yourself with peers working towards similar goals.
Reframe discomfort as growth and identity expansion.
5. Rest
The fifth step is rest.
After hard work, deep work, or a challenging call, take time to recuperate. Even five minutes can help your brain reset. Rest is essential to prevent burnout and to be able to take on more hard things in the future.
Without rest, the cycle breaks down. Pushing yourself constantly without recovery drains energy and reduces your ability to master resistance again.
When you apply the 5R process: resistance mastery, reward, rewire, reframe, and rest, you condition your brain to take consistent action on challenging goals. You adapt to the dopamine stage, gain support from peers, and shift your identity to someone who takes action and overcomes resistance.
Sustain Progress & Performance
Core habits for sustaining progress:
Include rest after intense effort.
Maintain your 5R cycle consistently.
Lean on your peer group for accountability.
Continue reframing discomfort as growth.
By mastering these five steps, you make hard things easier to start, more rewarding to finish, and more sustainable to repeat. You build momentum, strengthen your identity, and move forward on what truly matters.
Thank you for reading,
Enjoy the journey,
Katie
This article is based on a transcript from my podcast episode. To listen to the podcast episode, check out this link.