Too often seen solely as synonyms, Simple and Easy can be truly differing concepts when applied to meaningful aspects of life.
Simple is defined as “Easily understood or done; presenting no difficulty; composed of a single element.”
Easy is defined as “Achieved without great effort; presenting few difficulties; free from worries or problems.”
At first glance it can be very difficult to discern how these concepts might be different. The separation becomes clearer through implementation. Let’s consider how this plays into our ability to Make IT Happen.
I was in a conversation recently with a friend who is striving to move things forward in their life and is finding it particularly troublesome. Yet the trouble isn’t in in the doing of the things that must be done, it is in their perception of the process of those things.
You see the things that must be done are quite simple. Almost like stacking bricks for a wall. One by one, brick by brick, and then Ta-Da! You have a wall. Yet as simple as the process is, these proverbial bricks were heavy and difficult to stack, making this simple task anything but easy.
We may find that our emotional outlook on a situation has made the accomplishment of a goal incrementally more challenging. How do we combat that?
First it can be helpful to take into full perspective the task at hand. What is it we desire to accomplish? Do we want to be in better physical shape? Have a better job? Improve our personal relationships with others? Or perhaps we simply would like to feel happier in life. Whatever our desire may be, there will be a cost to attain it, and thusly we must be willing to pay that price.
Often the cost entailed is quite simple.
Do you want to be in better shape? Exercise and eat healthy.
Do you desire a better job? Update your resume and start applying.
Do you want to improve your personal relationships with others? Make a decided effort to address their needs ahead of your own, and communicate your needs vs your wants more effectively.
Where it stops being easy is in our emotional connection to those costs. Perhaps we have a dependency on foods for comfort, or we are scared over the uncertainty of starting a new job with an unfamiliar company, or we may struggle with vulnerability and fear when it comes to opening up to others, thus limiting our ability to communicate effectively. Whatever the case may be, these emotional dispositions to our simple solutions do not an easy situation make.
To combat this, a strong first step for us to make is to adjust our perception. When our emotions are making an opportunity for growth challenging it is because we are focused on the potential challenges, the possible negatives, or basing our expectations upon past experiences. All of which are as justifiable to focus on as the far more beneficial option: The Opposite.
Rather than focusing on the possible “bad” of a moment, focus on the promise of good that could come from it. Primary of which is the accomplishment of our goal.
By driving home the point in our own minds that the means to our achieving what we desire comes at the necessary adjustment to our thinking to risk the possible pain of change because we can see that the only way to possess this change is by putting forth the effort, we will pay the price necessary. It really is that simple.
Recognize the truth of a situation, and focus on the good.
Through this decisive choice we can train our minds to embrace these moments as opportunities for growth, rather than fear them due to the potential pain of change. Also through this we are not deceiving ourselves. It isn’t easy, it isn’t without risk, or pain, or sacrifice, rather it is with all of these things as a necessary part of the cost associated with accomplishing our goals.
Simple doesn’t mean Easy.
The accomplishment of our “IT” all boils down to personal accountability. We desire the change, and so it is we who take the initiative to insight change. There are those in life who may help us, but they cannot do it for us, and to what extent they are able to gift us anything in life, if we are not actively engaged in the process we will eventually lose what we have gained.
If you desire change, and find the steps forward to be less than easy, take a moment to see the simplicity of what must be done, focus on the good of making the investment to accomplish your goals, and then act. Put in the work to achieve your goal and make the payment required by risking pain and failure, trusting that though we may fail, we will never succeed without putting in the work.
Control your perception. Stay Focused. Focus on the good. Put in the work. Make IT Happen!!
Thank you for reading,
Anthony Hary
