Attributed to Kristian Bjornard
As I mentioned in an earlier post, most people when dealing with the improvement of their lives will usually look for the easiest way over the simplest way. You may be saying, “So what’s the difference between easy and simple?” Well, when looking for the easy way, the proclivity is to take short cuts restricting one from giving 100% of their effort. This ultimately means minimal quality in their work that doesn’t last.
However, with the simplest way, the person looks for a simple answer that would lead to improvement. The simple way says to go from A to B instead of being too complex, which in most cases some think there’s something beyond A and have to seek the “true” path of success. Point A always has and always will be starting at self which gives the person the opportunity to recognize what they can and can’t do without God. On the other hand easy doesn’t say go from A to B but says, “Is there any way to skip over the time we have to travel from A to B, sounds like a lot of work?” When looking at making a successful life, look for the simple solution, not the easy solution.
Okay, so we know why we don’t like easy, easy doesn’t improve the person, but why choose simple. Here is a quick example. During one of Tony Robins’ extravagant retreats, he brought one woman up on stage to demonstrate the power of options. You can never run out of options if you would just “think.” The demonstration was as follows: She had to sit down in a chair while holding a book over her lap with her left hand. When Tony said, “Now” she had to release the book from her left hand without it touching her lap. After about ten minutes of the volunteer doing all she could think to do to follow the rules, such as tossing the book, giving it to Tony, running out in the audience to sit the book down, she didn’t think about the simple solution.
The simple solution was just to switch hands. Switch the book from her left to right hand. Simple! But most of us aren’t far off from her response to the problem. Looking for the complex answer instead of the simple answer. But, let me say, the simple answer is simple, but will still take a great amount of work. The rules of improving yourself are simple. Simple in understanding, complex in applying. Searching for easy rules of improving yourself, most believe is complex in understanding and simple to apply to one’s life. But easy isn’t a challenge, and challenges are what improves us.
– Personal Trainer for the Mind
Charles T. Robinson, JR. 