the easy button

I have the ‘easy button’ that I got from Staples on my work desk. It reminds me that I need to find ways to make things easier for myself. Oftentimes, our mind complicates things and we overburden ourselves with our work tasks and other obligations. Things are not as difficult as we think they are. If we face a challenging task, we can chunk it down into smaller pieces that are easy for us to tackle.

We humans think that working hard is the sure-shot way to success, so without planning or strategizing we dive in and often that leads to disappointment due to lack of progress. Many times we procrastinate because we need the deadline fuel to rocket our efforts. We reaffirm to ourselves and others that we only perform well under pressure. I’ve been there and it can work like magic but we end up paying heavy costs as well. Easy has been defamed and equated with laziness. This is false. Easiness can propel efficiency; we just need to figure out what our level of easiness is and then go from there.

Often, the problem or obstacle that we are facing seems daunting and we see it like a giant monster that we need to tackle. But once we begin, we realize that things are not as difficult as we thought they would be. It was simply focusing on the problem, getting familiar with its aesthetics, having an appreciation for it and finding a strategy to tackle it one step at a time. It’s like a mine, we go inside it where the situation is not ideal — it’s dark and dingy — but soon we get adapted to it and are able to find the gold and hidden gems that can make the rest of our life easier.

Once we get started and get the momentum rolling, things get easier with time. Things are supposed to be easy and effortless so that we live a life filled with clarity and peace. And if they’re not, we always have a choice to find ways to make them easier or switch to a different path that is easier and better aligns with us.

Go for the path of least resistance, it’s worth it. And keep reminding yourself whenever you are done with a seemingly heavy-duty task, the wise words: “That was easy”. Don’t work hard, work smart and let your ‘easy’ muscle get stronger with time.

Easy is all about having a rich focus, better alignment and unshakeable confidence in ourselves. We don’t need to take care of each and everything that comes our way. We can let most of them go and focus only on the things and skills that come easy to us and are in sync with our ‘genius’. Our journey will become easier and much more fruitful.