# Why do people choose to do hard things for fun? Canonical: https://zestasy.com/wiki/choosing-hard-things/ Section: Zestasy Wiki > Mindset · Updated: 2026-10-13 · Publisher: Zestasy *Zestasy Wiki: our reference answers. Checked for facts and sources; less curated than the magazine.* Because effort can make things feel more worth having, not less. Researchers call this the effort paradox: we usually avoid effort, yet we also seek it out and value what it gives us. Voluntary difficulty offers a clear challenge, the slow pleasure of getting better, and a story to tell afterwards, which is why people queue up to cycle over mountains or spend a weekend on a single loaf. On paper it makes no sense. People with comfortable sofas get up before dawn to climb a pass on a bicycle. Others spend a whole winter on *War and Peace*, or three days making a ragù that a jar would have done in ten minutes. Ask them why and they will say something like "because it's hard", as if that settled it. In a way, it does. ## The effort paradox Most models of behaviour treat effort as a cost: something we try to minimise. That is often true. We take the lift, we buy the pre-grated cheese. But the psychologists Inzlicht, Shenhav and Olivola [described an "effort paradox"](https://michaelinzlicht.com/publications/articles-chapters/tag/effort) in 2018: effort is both costly and valued. A [later review by Inzlicht and colleagues](https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/publications/effort-paradox-redux-rethinking-how-effort-shapes-social-behavior/) sets out the evidence that people tend to avoid effort when they can, yet effort can also raise the value people place on what they do, and it discusses several possible explanations for why both are true. In everyday terms: the summit you walked to feels different from the one you reached by cable car, even if the view is identical. ## What a hard thing gives you **A clear challenge.** Ordinary life is full of tasks with fuzzy edges. A hard hobby has a shape: get to the top, finish the book, make the bread rise. That clarity is restful in its own way. **The feeling of getting better.** Few pleasures are as reliable as noticing that something which defeated you in March is merely difficult in June. Progress in a skill you chose is yours in a way that a pay rise rarely is. **Absorption.** Hard, well-matched tasks tend to swallow your attention whole, which is where the idea of [flow](https://zestasy.com/wiki/what-is-flow/) comes in. For a few hours, the inbox does not exist. **A story.** The day it rained on the whole of the Cinque Terre walk becomes the best anecdote of the year. Comfortable days rarely make it into conversation. **Company.** Hard things are often shared: the running club, the rowing crew, the friend who also said yes to the ridiculous swim. Difficulty bonds people quickly. ## Choosing your hard thing Not all difficulty is fun. A few cues for picking the good kind: - **You chose it.** Difficulty imposed by someone else feels like a chore; difficulty you volunteered for feels like an adventure. - **It is hard in a way you find interesting.** Some people love the grind of distance; others love the puzzle of a climbing route. Pick the flavour of hard that suits you. - **There is a next step.** A good hard thing has levels, so there is always something slightly beyond you. - **It does not depend on suffering.** The point is the challenge, not the misery. If every session leaves you dreading the next, adjust. ## When hard stops being fun If the hobby has become a second job, full of targets and guilt, it may be worth stepping back. Choosing difficulty is a pleasure partly because you can also choose to stop, or to make it a bit easier for a season. We look at that line in [knowing when to quit](https://zestasy.com/wiki/knowing-when-to-quit/). ## FAQ ### Is wanting to do hard things just showing off? Sometimes there is a bit of that, and it is harmless. But plenty of people do hard things privately, with no audience: the solo sea swim, the long novel nobody will ask about. The satisfaction is mostly internal. ### What if you don't enjoy difficulty at all? Then you probably have a different threshold, not a flaw. Try something only slightly beyond your current level. A gentle challenge can still bring the same sense of having done something. ### Do hard things have to be physical? Not at all. Learning a language, finishing a long book, building a table or mastering a tricky dish all count. The common thread is a clear challenge you picked yourself. ## Sources - [Michael Inzlicht: publications on effort, including The effort paradox: Effort is both costly and valued (2018)](https://michaelinzlicht.com/publications/articles-chapters/tag/effort) - [University of Dundee research portal: Effort paradox redux: Rethinking how effort shapes social behavior (Inzlicht, Campbell and Saunders, 2025)](https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/publications/effort-paradox-redux-rethinking-how-effort-shapes-social-behavior/) ## Related - [What is flow, and how do you get into it?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/what-is-flow/) - [How do you do something that scares you?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/doing-something-that-scares-you/) - [Is leaving your comfort zone overrated?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/is-comfort-zone-overrated/) - [Why do people run marathons?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/why-run-a-marathon/) - [How do you keep a hobby just for fun?](https://zestasy.com/mindset/keeping-a-hobby-just-for-fun/) - [All Mindset answers in the Wiki](https://zestasy.com/wiki/#mindset)