Nothing Is Ever Easy
This has to be one of my most favorite phrases ever. This is a prominent phrase stated by the character Zedd in the Sword of Truth ( series by Terry Goodkind (Wizard’s First Rule, Chapter 7, page 77). For some reason, I have loved this remark primarily because it is so true and its simplicity.
Nothing is ever easy.
Remember the first time that you tried something new? How much you struggled with it? You (your ego) may have mentally gone into it thinking, “oh this is a piece of cake!” Then you quickly realized as you started spending more time with it, that you underestimated the amount of effort that was required to be able to take onto this task.
Oops. Well, that was not as easy as I thought.
Now we need lean the words of Theodore Roosevelt for his take on the “easy” button.
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”
(Meaning = nothing is ever easy)
You discovered unconscious incompetence. Meaning you didn’t know that you didn’t know. You did not realize that you were really bad at trying to do that “something” for the first time. When you began to realize partway through that learning process of how bad you really were, you become consciously incompetent. You became aware you were really bad.
Even the simplest tasks, the tasks that you now consider simple were not easy the first time you tried them. You can trace this back up the whole way through your entire life. When you were younger you were certain you could tie your shoes or ride a bike the first time. Or when you got to drive the car the first time. Or build your first line of code or your first machine. Your first managerial role. Your first business. It was not easy. Nothing is ever easy.
Coaching, learning, failure, and repetition made it easy.
Coaching and learning can come from anyone. Only if you are ready to accept it. Receiving coaching and applying the learning is not easy. You can learn from a peer, a subordinate, boss, friends, neighbors, spouses, children, even you yourself. The day you stop learning is the day they start dumping dirt on your body.
Failure. Face it. We will fail. Accept it. Embrace it. Do not fear it. Fail and fail often. When you fail, it means you are trying something new. You are doing something that you have not done before. You may be trying to do something that no one has ever done before.
It is not easy to fail. It is uncomfortable, frustrating and demoralizing at times. It is painful. It is difficult. How you accept that failure and what you do after it is what makes you who you are today. Keep trying. Never stop. Have discipline. Persist.
It is all about repetition. Do it again. Over and over and over again. Keep trying until it becomes muscle memory. Once again, discipline is key. Discipline is not easy, and it will never be easy. With discipline and your drive to keep doing something over and over again, only then will you realize your success. Nothing is ever easy.
Think of the things around you that are not easy. In your work or business. In your home. What if you viewed it through someone else’s eyes — from their worldview? Do you think it will be easy for them? What can you do to make it easier for them to do that work? For them to try to do something new the first time?
Coach them. Guide them. Provide them instructions. Give them an opportunity to succeed in your efforts. You blazed the trail; you cut the trees, bulldozed a path, and graded the road. You have made it easier for them to go further and faster than you were able to go.
Go forth and be brilliant.
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