I’m kicking off a new series on Defenders LIVE called You Can Do Hard Things, and my first guest is my good friend Bethel Wagner.
Bethel and I recently spent eight days training at Defenders University with Adam Winch. It was physically exhausting, mentally challenging, and full of lessons neither of us expected.
During one particularly frustrating rifle drill, Bethel was struggling to hit a tiny target when four little words popped into her head.
And those four words brought up something much bigger than a missed shot.
After training, Bethel wrote about the experience in her journal. When she first read it to me, I completely lost it. I mean, I really cried.
I recognized so much of myself in what she wrote.
I’ve had plenty of moments when I’m doing something difficult and suddenly the biggest struggle isn’t what’s happening around me. It’s what’s going on inside my own head.
And sometimes those thoughts have been there for so long that I don’t even question whether they’re true anymore.
That’s what I loved about this conversation. We talked about the stories we tell ourselves, how they can hold us back without us even realizing it, and how our faith helps us recognize what’s true when our thoughts are telling us something different.
We also talked about learning to speak up when something isn’t working, finding strength when we’re exhausted, and why doing hard things can teach us so much more than whatever skill we’re trying to learn.
I started this series because I’m genuinely curious about people and what they’re learning through their experiences. I don’t expect anyone to have all the answers. I certainly don’t! But I think there’s a lot we can learn from each other when we’re willing to have honest conversations.
And Bethel was willing to share something pretty personal with all of us.
I’d love to hear what you take away from this conversation, especially if you’ve ever found yourself fighting a battle in your own head while trying to do something hard.
