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. We had great intentions on New Year’s Day, but they’ve eroded over the past few weeks.
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 quick 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 – we failed at something easy.
If losing weight or getting rich was easy, we’d only need one book on each topic.
Our default setting is to focus on the easy things instead of the simple things.
The things in life that have the most value are often step-by-step 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. We’d rather do something easy.
“Easy” lets us stay in our comfort zone.
Changing Your Perspective on Things that Seem Hard
Doing hard things is 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.
But 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. Not complicated at all.
But when we focus on the overall task, it feels hard – and we quit. But when we only look at one step, it’s easy. Anybody can take one step.
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.
- Break those goals into manageable steps to make them simple.
- Take one, single step. That makes the process easy.
Setting goals is a great place to start, because it gives us motivation and clarity. It tells us where we’re headed. 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 amazing 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.
What’s something you’ve wanted to accomplish, but keep getting stuck because the mountain is too high? Take your eyes off the peak, and focus on what’s directly in front of you.
What’s the next right step you can take?
Let me know your thoughts and plans around this at mike@mikebechtle.com. I’d love to follow your progress. And if you know somebody who’s feeling “stuck,” share this with them!
(This is actually an updated version of a post I wrote a few years back . . . in case it looks familiar. It felt relevant, so I wanted to revisit it!)