Can we change the word “hard” to “challenging and joyful”

In counseling work, I often see the strong belief of “parenting is hard”, “study is hard”, “work is hard”, “business is hard, “relationship is hard”, “marriage is hard”, and of course, “life is hard” in the faces of the people I see. I also see this in myself and the faces of my own family.

The mind is tricky. 

It tends to give us the perception and data that reinforces our beliefs, and what we perceive, we focus on, and what we focus on, we tend to get. It’s a kind of self fulfilling prophecy.

So in counseling/coaching work, we try to put a spotlight on those beliefs, and defuse/unhook from them, and maybe even change them.

What if we can can change the word “hard” to “challenging and joyful” e.g. Parenting is challenging and joyful.

Will that make a difference to our perception, how we feel/think, our behaviours, and our outcome?