Losing weight is simple. Just eat less calories than you burn.
But it’s not easy.
It’s simple to quit smoking. Just don’t buy any cigarettes.
But it’s not easy.
Financial freedom is simple. Just spend less than you make.
But it’s not easy.
Because things are simple, we think they shouldn’t take any work. We start something, but get discouraged when we don’t see results right away – so we quit.
I went to Barnes & Noble a few weeks ago, and noticed that the largest sections in the store were about finance and fitness. There were hundreds of books on both topics, promising that we can get results with the least amount of effort. We buy those books, trying to turn “simple” into “easy.”
When it doesn’t work, we feel even worse. We failed at something that was supposed to be easy – which means it’s our fault.
If it was easy, we’d only need one book on each topic.
Our default setting is to try the easy things.
The things in life that have the most value are often simple (starting a business, investing in an important relationship, writing a book). But because they’re also hard, we never get started.
Most of us have things we’d love to accomplish with our lives. We want to do something significant that makes a difference. Those things often aren’t easy.
- They require commitment.
- We have to make choices with uncertain outcomes.
- We have to exercise discipline and stay focused on our vision.
- They might involve a long, tedious process to see results.
That sounds hard. When things are hard, we tend to avoid them.
“Easy” lets us stay in our comfort zone.
Changing Your Perspective on Things that Seem Hard
It’s kind of like climbing a mountain. When we’re at the bottom looking up, it’s safe. There’s no risk; we can’t fall. We can plan the best route, and study the best mountain climbing techniques.
There’s only one way to the peak of the mountain:
Up.
It’s really simple. One foot goes in front of the other until we reach the top.
We need to take the first step. Then another, then another.
It’s simple. But it might seem like an overwhelming task. The mountain might look too big, so we’re paralyzed. How can we make it easy to achieve big goals?
- Goals give us direction and purpose.
- Breaking those goals into manageable steps make them simple.
- Taking single steps makes the process easy.
Setting goals is a great place to start, because it gives us motivation and clarity. Once we’ve determined our destination, it’s time to take our eyes off the goal – except for an occasional glance to make sure we’re still on track.
As Emily P. Freeman says, “It’s time to do the next right thing” – period. Just one. That step might seem insignificant because it seems too easy. But taking that step is the only thing we can do in the moment.
The only way to get to the top of a mountain is to take single, easy steps – one at a time.
In his excellent book Atomic Habits, author James Clear describes the value of taking the tiniest steps (easy) for a long time:
In the same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them. They seem to make little difference on any given day, and yet the impact they deliver over the months and years can be enormous. It is only when looking back two, five or perhaps ten years later that the value of good habits and the cost of bad ones becomes strikingly apparent.
A year will go by whether you take action or not. Where do you want to be in a year? Either you’ll be at the peak of your mountain looking down, or at the base looking up.
Maybe it’s time to take the first step.