Effortless effort

Do you realize how difficult it is for you to walk on two legs? Walking requires some very sophisticated balance and muscle skills. Watch a toddler who is just learning to walk and you’ll develop an appreciation for how much effort it requires. And yet, unless you have a physical condition that impedes your walking, you walk around all the time now without even thinking about it. What was once an enormously challenging effort to you is still just as challenging in an objective sense, but you’ve become so accustomed to it that you hardly even think about it.

Now ask yourself this. What other challenging efforts could you get so accustomed to that they seem practically effortless? If you drive a car, that’s another good example right there. When you first started driving it was a real challenge. Now, you’re a better driver than ever before and yet it largely seems to come naturally to you, because you’re so used to doing it.

The effort required of you for any personal achievement you can imagine, is something you can become so accustomed to that is seems effortless. Why does a world-class tennis player make her performance on the court look so effortless? Because from her perspective, it feels largely effortless. It’s something she’s become accustomed to through decades of intense daily practice. Why does a rock star make guitar playing look so effortless? For exactly the same reason. He’s done it every day since he was a child. It feels completely natural and mostly effortless to him.

One very firm, indisputable reality is that achievement requires effort. Another reality is that anyone who chooses to undertake that effort can do so. And still another reality is that a significantly higher level of effort does not have to feel that way. These three realities make achievement not only possible, but also one of the most enjoyable and satisfying choices in life.

What does this all mean for you? It means that you’re absolutely capable of achieving whatever you truly wish to achieve. Furthermore, it means that even though your achievement will demand more of you than you can even imagine, you can most certainly handle it with confidence and grace, because it will feel like much less effort than it actually is.