Consider the possibility that difficult things can be easy

THURSDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2010

21:45

The past few days I’ve been reading through notebooks from the last couple of years. Somewhere – was it during lunch? – a thought wandered into my consciousness about me over-complicating everything that has to do with making money on the Internet; a thought that said there is no way it can be that complex.

Imagine, came the idea as I was pedalling home fifteen minutes later, that whatever you think is difficult is in actual fact easy – not just things related to making money, but things like losing weight and learning a new language.

Think about it: You’ll chastise yourself for only starting with something today. Had you known a few days ago it was easy, you could have had some cash in your pocket right now! You could already have spoken a few phrases of that language you’ve wanted to study for so long! You could already have demolished a brick with those martial arts you’ve wanted to learn!

22:35

First went for a stroll through the local shopping mall to try and recover from the shock – that things are in fact easy! And just because I was in a good mood I decided to stop making negative statements. So, rather than saying, it was not difficult, you’d say (all together now): “That was easy!”

I have since discovered that this transforms something vague into something more concrete in a simple statement followed by a possible solution. An example: Something’s not right with my computer. I have no idea what’s wrong with it changes to: My computer is broken. I should get it fixed.

SATURDAY, 13 NOVEMBER 2010

14:43

“It’s not easy, it’s difficult.”

What is difficult?

“(Answer – that comes down to it being difficult to drive a screw in with your thumbnail.)”

Can it be made easier, say (with a screwdriver)?

“Well, if I have to be honest …”

* * *

EASY does seem to be a very interesting topic. Funny also how much resistance comes up in my own psyche every time I dare consider something easy.

The good news is that these entrenched ways of thinking about things that force you to respond in a certain way when something triggers it – a word, a thought, a situation – can be altered so that your psyche responds differently when triggered.

17:44

Say something is really difficult, or perhaps truly unpleasant. What would I recommend?

I will ask: Can it be made easier, and if so, how? Can I pay someone else to do it for me? Is there some tool or other resource that will make it easier for me? Has someone written a book that explains how to make it easier? Do I need to learn a skill? Where can I find out what I need to know?

SUNDAY, 14 NOVEMBER 2010

Your personality, your particular experience and your abilities all play a role in how “easy” you consider something to be.

Nevertheless, you owe it to yourself to at least consider that something can be easy for you – that it may even already be easier than you think. You may also want to consider training your subconscious to embrace this reality.

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