^{_{[Relaxing vs. Trying Too Hard]}}

Welcome to July! The first half of the year is over and I sometimes feel exhausted. There are just too many essential things I want to do.

So I started reading Greg McKeown’s "“effortless” again and although I knew it before, I was reminded that I’m probably trying too hard.

Maybe you are too, so this might help.

Situation

What do you usually do when you don’t reach a desired outcome?

If you’re like 99% of people (and me), you probably thought: “Try harder!”

I get it, we often times think increased effort = better outcome.

But what if there’s another a more effortless way?

Idea

We always assume that things worth our effort MUST be hard.

What if the next time you had a a seemingly impossible task in front of you, instead of asking “How can I get this difficult task done?” you’d ask "How can I make this essential task easier?”

Maybe remove the complexity. Maybe try a new fun new way that you haven’t tried.

Think about pushing a rock downhill, instead of uphill using tremendous effort, that’s effortless.

Another good example Greg gives is a basketball player shooting a free throw - effortless.

Why does this work?

Our minds are programmed to avoid difficulty.

If something is perceived as easy, you won’t have to fight that internal battle anymore.

It only makes sense:

If we always chose the more difficult path, we’d probably be extinct.

So let’s find a more effortless way, an easier way for our essential tasks.

Next week I’ll break down my effortless way of writing this newsletter that has made this essential task really enjoyable.

Happy 4th of July to all my American friends!

Gereon

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