“You Make It Look So Easy”—The Truth Behind a Life of Ease
The other night, I attended a women’s event where we were each asked to share one of our greatest achievements. Without hesitation, I answered, “Raising my kids.”
To my surprise, the women around me were genuinely taken aback, and their responses sounded like this:
“But you make it look so easy.”
“You’re always so calm and peaceful.”
“You’re such a good mom.”
As I listened to each woman share her own greatest achievement, every story was filled with dedication, discipline, and countless hours—actually, countless years—of effort. Yet on the outside, each woman showed up as the epitome of grace and ease in what she’d accomplished.
When I came home that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about the experience and each woman’s story. Then it clicked: Isn’t this exactly what we work so hard for?
We read books, take classes, attend workshops, hire coaches, train in our careers, and build systems and habits in our lives.
We dedicate ourselves and invest our time and effort so that we can ultimately live a life that feels calm and grounded.
A life lived with ease.
Deep down, this is why so many people seek out a life coach—to learn how to create ease in their life and navigate all its beauty and challenges with confidence, clarity and peacefulness.
There’s a significant insight I have to point out here—ease does not equal easy. There is a tremendous amount of effort behind a life that looks effortless! Ease is the result of intentional and aligned effort.
Anyone who receives the compliment “You make it look so easy!” has chosen to “do the hard things” in their life. My chosen list of hard things to live an ease-filled life includes:
Waking up early
Exercising daily
Preparing meals at home
Putting my phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ to focus on things and people that matter
Saying “No” to honor my boundaries
Refusing to complain
Taking full responsibility for my life
Investing consistently in my self-development
These practices support my core life values and pour into my most important life buckets. And yes, there are definitely hacks and shortcuts to cut corners around each of these (believe me, I’ve tried them all!). But they don’t work in the long run. They usually set me two steps back when they hold the promise of taking me three steps forward.
We are awed by people who achieve great things because they make it look effortless. We are inspired by their grace and peace. But when you take a deeper look, there is always a profound amount of effort behind the ease you see today.
And that effort is an investment in who we are becoming—and the life we choose to live.
