102 – Yes, you can do hard things… and it doesn’t have to suck

by | Jul 19, 2023

Show Notes

In this episode of the Power and Motion podcast, we explore the transformative power of doing hard things. Life inevitably presents us with challenges, but instead of dreading these experiences, we can learn to welcome them as opportunities for growth and learning.

A key part of embracing hard things is growing our failure capacity. This involves changing our mindset about failure, viewing it not as a negative outcome but as a valuable learning experience. 

By embracing hard things and growing our failure capacity, we can unlock our full potential and achieve our goals. 

About the Host

Kim Hagle (she/her)  is Certified Personal Trainer, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Body Image Coach and founder of Radiant Vitality Wellness. 

Through mindset and movement coaching she helps women heal their relationship with food and exercise while disconnecting their worth from their weight, so they can feel healthy, happy and confident in the body they have.  

New Here?  Download our free guide: 5 Ways to Feel Healthy, Happy and Confident – without obsessing over the scale.  

Want to feel good in your body without focusing on weight?  Register for our 5 day mini training course. For just $27, you’ll receive one short video and worksheet each day for 5 days that will help get started with the non-diet approach and  feeling better in and about your body.

Ready to take the next step?  Visit our website to learn more about our coaching programs 

Let’s stay in touch! Kim is on Instagram and Facebook @radiantvitalitywellness.  

Disclaimer.  The information contained in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice.  Always consult a health care professional about your unique needs.


Read the Transcript

Discover the power of 'embracing challenges' to unlock personal growth and resilience. Learn to reframe failure and thrive.

Embracing Difficult Experiences: The Power of Doing Hard Things

Life is filled with hard things. It’s an inevitable part of our existence. But have you ever considered that these difficult experiences don’t have to be dreadful? In fact, they can be transformative.

This topic was inspired by a recent experience with a client in my studio. She was struggling with a new exercise that required her to balance on one foot. As she wobbled and fell, she began to compare herself to me, someone who practices this move regularly. She was hard on herself, questioning why she couldn’t master what seemed like a simple exercise.

The Truth About Trying New Things

We often expect ourselves to be perfect at everything the first time we try it. But if that were true, we wouldn’t have experts, and everyone would know how to do everything. The reality is, I gave her that challenging move because it was what she needed to strengthen her muscles and improve her alignment and pain.

The fear of failure often holds us back from achieving our goals. But what if we could reframe how we think about the word “hard”? What if we could see the potential for growth and learning in these challenging experiences?

Breaking Out of Your Comfort Zone

Imagine your comfort zone as a bubble. Everything inside this bubble is familiar and comfortable. But all the things you want in life that you don’t have yet are outside this bubble. To achieve these goals, you have to break out of your comfort zone, even if it’s uncomfortable.

 

Doing hard things doesn’t mean that life has to be hard all the time. In fact, we often make things harder on ourselves by believing that anything worth having is hard. By changing our relationship with the word “hard”, we can invite more ease into our lives.

Growing Your Failure Capacity

To embrace hard things, we need to grow our failure capacity. This involves changing our mindset about failure, having our own back, knowing when to ask for help, and relying on our evidence bank of past successes. By doing this, we can create a safe space for ourselves to try new things, to make mistakes, and to learn from these experiences. Let’s break this down:

  1. Change Your Mindset About Failure: Instead of viewing failure as a negative outcome, we can reframe it as a learning experience. Just like a baker perfecting a recipe or a child learning to ride a bike, each failure teaches us something valuable that brings us one step closer to our goal. It’s important to remember that failure doesn’t define you as a person. It’s simply a part of the process of growth and learning.

  2. Have Your Own Back: It’s crucial to be kind and compassionate to ourselves when we make mistakes or face challenges. Just as we would encourage a child learning to ride a bike, we should offer ourselves the same support and encouragement. Instead of berating ourselves for our struggles, we can acknowledge our feelings of frustration or discouragement and remind ourselves that it’s okay to find things hard. We can tell ourselves, “It’s okay. Mistakes are how I learn. Of course, this is hard. I’ve never done it before. I will get this. Or maybe I won’t, but that’s okay too.”

  3. Know When to Ask for Help: Society often tells us that we should be able to figure out everything ourselves and that needing help is a sign of weakness. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Nobody knows how to do everything, and it’s perfectly okay to seek help when we need it. Whether it’s asking a friend for advice, hiring a coach or mentor, or seeking professional help, reaching out for assistance is a sign of strength, not weakness.

  4. Rely on Your Evidence Bank: We all have past experiences of success that we can draw upon when facing new challenges. These successes serve as evidence that we are capable and resilient. When faced with a difficult task, instead of focusing on what we don’t know or can’t do, we can remind ourselves of all the times we’ve overcome challenges in the past. This can help boost our confidence and motivate us to keep going, even when things get tough.

By growing our failure capacity, we can create a safe and supportive environment for ourselves to take on hard things. We can learn to see each challenge not as a threat, but as an opportunity for growth and learning.

Conclusion

Hard things are inevitable, but they don’t have to be dreadful. By changing our perspective and embracing these experiences, we can unlock our full potential and achieve our goals. So, what are you avoiding because it feels too hard? What do you need to believe about yourself to feel safe taking action? Remember, you can do hard things. You have the strength, the resilience, and the capacity to face these challenges head-on. And remember, every challenge is an opportunity for growth.

Hey Gorgeous, I'm Kim (she/her)

I’m a body positive personal trainer for women over 40 who feel like “fitness misfits”.

It’s my mission to make the life changing benefits of movement available to ALL bodies, especially those who feel like they don’t “fit” in fitness spaces.

Kim Hagle - Body Positive Personal Trainer for Women over 40

Thanks for Visiting the Radiant Vitality Blog

Kim Hagle  is a body positive personal trainer, body image coach and founder of Radiant Vitality Wellness.

She offers customized personal training, in person group fitness classes, online fitness programs and body image coaching services  in Goderich, ON  and virtually across North America.

Kim holds a BScN and is an ACE certified personal trainer.  She is also a size inclusive fitness specialist, and a certified health and life coach specializing in Body Image.  You can read more about Kim here.

Follow Radiant Vitality on Social

0 Comments

Check Out Our Recent Posts

How To Find The Motivation To Workout: 7 Ways To Finally Stay Consistent With Exercise

If you’ve been trying to figure out how to find the motivation to workout, you’re not alone; and you’re not broken. In my 15 years as a body-positive personal trainer, lack of motivation is the single most common reason people struggle to start or stay consistent with exercise.

But here’s what most fitness advice gets wrong: the strategies typically used to improve exercise motivation (accountability challenges, strict programs, “no excuses” mantras) often make the problem worse.

The real issue isn’t that you don’t know how to motivate yourself to work out. It’s that the fitness industry has been pointing you in the wrong direction entirely.

In this post, I’m sharing 7 evidence-backed, body-positive strategies to help you:

Overcome lack of motivation to exercise once and for all

Build a movement habit that fits your real life

Shift from dreading workouts to actually wanting to move.

Is Strength Training Safe If You Have Chronic Pain? 6 Ways to Start Strength Training Safely When You Live with Chronic Pain

Is Strength Training Safe If You Have Chronic Pain?

Wondering if strength training with chronic pain is actually safe? The short answer is yes — when it’s approached in a way that works with your body instead of against it.
In this article, you’ll learn how to start strength training safely when living with chronic pain, fibromyalgia, fatigue, or mobility limitations. We’ll cover beginner-friendly strategies like low impact strength training, pacing, using modifications, and learning the difference between productive discomfort and pain that signals your body needs something different.
You’ll also discover why tracking workouts and symptoms can help you identify your personal “sweet spot” with movement, making it easier to exercise consistently without triggering unnecessary flare-ups.
This post is designed for fitness misfits who feel intimidated, excluded, or discouraged by traditional fitness culture and want a more compassionate, sustainable approach to exercise.
Whether you’re brand new to movement or trying to rebuild trust with your body after years of pain, this guide will help you approach strength training with more confidence, flexibility, and self-compassion — without the “no pain, no gain” mindset.

Struggling with exercise consistency in perimenopause? Learn how a minimum baseline approach can help you stay consistent, reduce burnout, and build sustainable strength.

How to Stay Consistent with Exercise in Perimenopause (A Minimum Baseline Approach)

If you’re struggling to stay consistent with exercise in perimenopause, this post introduces a more sustainable approach. Learn how setting a realistic minimum baseline can help you avoid burnout, support your hormones, and build long-term strength and consistency—without all-or-nothing pressure.

Do You Need To Get In Shape Before Hiring a Personal Trainer - 5 Honest Answers

Do You Need to Get in Shape Before Hiring a Personal Trainer?

Thinking about hiring a personal trainer but feel like you need to get in shape first? You’re not alone. In this post, we break down five key points to help you understand what personal training really is —and who it’s actually for. (Hint: it’s not just athletes or already-fit people.) You’ll learn why starting with support can make things easier, safer, and more sustainable, especially if you’re feeling out of shape or unsure where to begin. If hiring a personal trainer has been on your mind, this guide will help you take that first step with confidence.

5 Ways to Start Strength Training When You Feel Completely Out of Shape

5 Ways to Start Strength Training When You Feel Completely Out of Shape

In 5 Ways to Start Strength Training When You Feel Completely Out of Shape, you’ll learn how to begin in a way that actually feels doable. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, out of shape, or unsure where to start, this guide breaks it down into five simple, realistic steps. From starting smaller than you think to choosing movements that feel safe and supportive, you’ll build strength, confidence, and consistency without pressure or perfection. This beginner-friendly approach is especially helpful if you’re returning after a long break or managing pain, helping you create a sustainable strength training routine that fits your life.

a photo of bands and dumbbells with on screen text "Resistance bands vs weights for beginners - Which is a better place to start?"

Resistance Bands vs Weights for Beginners: Which Is Better to Start With?

If you’re new to strength training, it’s common to wonder whether you should be using resistance bands or weights. Both can help you build strength — but they don’t feel the same, especially for beginners. This post compares resistance bands vs weights for beginners, looking at joint impact, ease of use, cost, and confidence. You’ll learn the pros and cons of each option and why resistance bands are often a more supportive place to start, particularly if you want low-impact, beginner-friendly strength training you can do at home without pressure or intimidation.

A person working out with a long resistance band with support from a trainer. Text box reads "Are resistance bands good for beginners. 5 reasons why they're the perfect place to start"

Are Resistance Bands Good for Beginners? 

Resistance bands are an excellent choice for beginners who want to build strength without intimidation or high-impact workouts. They’re versatile enough for full-body strength training, affordable, and easy to use at home with minimal space. Resistance bands are also joint-friendly, making them a great option for people with chronic pain, mobility limitations, or those returning to exercise after a break. With multiple resistance levels, they allow beginners to progress at their own pace. This post explains five reasons resistance bands are good for beginners, outlines the most common types of bands, and shares how to try a beginner-friendly band workout.

Small Fitness Wins: How Tiny Steps Build Lasting Strength

Small Fitness Wins for Women Over 40: How Tiny Steps Build Lasting Strength

Lasting fitness success isn’t built through dramatic transformations or all-or-nothing effort—it’s built through small, consistent actions over time. For women over 40, especially those navigating busy lives, chronic pain, or years of frustrating fitness experiences, focusing on small fitness wins can be the key to building habits that actually stick.
This article explores how small wins—like adding one extra set, moving for five more minutes, or choosing rest when your body needs it—create meaningful progress without burnout. Instead of relying on the scale, it highlights powerful non-scale victories such as improved energy, better sleep, stronger joints, and increased confidence. These changes often show up long before visible results, yet they’re the foundation of sustainable strength and mobility.
You’ll also learn practical ways to track progress that support motivation rather than shame, and how shifting away from perfectionism can transform your relationship with movement. By celebrating what your body can do today, you build momentum that carries you forward—one small, achievable step at a time.

The Best Way to Work Out with Chronic Pain (without making it worse)

The Best Way to Work Out With Chronic Pain (Without Making It Worse)

Discover a balanced, evidence-informed way to exercise with chronic pain. This guide breaks down why movement helps, how to structure your week, and how to stay consistent without making pain worse.

Strength Training for Beginners Over 40: How to Start Without Hurting Yourself

Strength Training for Beginners Over 40: How to Start Without Hurting Yourself

Strength training after 40 can feel intimidating — especially if you’re worried about injury. This beginner-friendly guide explains how to start safely, build strength gradually, and support your body instead of pushing it too hard.