Why Hard Isn't Better with Ret Taylor
Ret Taylor spent 35 years believing hard equals valuable, until a storm on Denali taught him that forcing his life and living it were two different things. The work below isn't about quitting hard things. It's about telling the truth about which yeses are actually yours. Five prompts. Be honest. Nobody's grading this.
▶ Watch the full episode with Ret Taylor for deeper context on how to approach these questionsThe Yes You've Been Faking
Find it. Where in your life are you giving a yes that your body doesn't actually agree with, a role, a project, a relationship, a version of yourself? Ret feels the real yes in his chest and gut. Where do you feel the fake one?
Hard = Valuable?
Name the belief underneath. If something comes easily to you, do you secretly discount it? Ret avoided his real work for years because it felt too easy to be worth anything.
Is This Happening To Me, Or For Me?
Pick the thing you've been calling a failure or a setback. Write its B-plot: the version where this was exactly what you needed. Ret turned around 2,000 feet from the summit and called it the summit he needed.
If You Let Go Of The Oars
Picture yourself in the boat, but you've stopped rowing upstream. What would you actually do this year if you trusted the current to carry you somewhere good?
Your Mini Vision Quest
Make it real. Schedule a few hours alone in nature this week, no phone, just a journal and an open intention. Write down where, when, and how long.