Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most

by Greg McKeown

We needed to find ways to make every day a little easier.

If your job is to keep the fires burning for an indefinite period of time, you can’t throw all the fuel on the flames at the beginning.

Of course, the worry didn’t disappear entirely. There were still doctors’ appointments to be kept, test results to be waited for. Some days were harder than others. There were plenty of tears. But through it all there was also singing, laughing, eating, and making memories. We didn’t just get through this difficult period, didn’t just survive it. Our experience was gentler than that. From the moment we decided to choose the easier path, we felt somehow freer and lighter.

Whatever has happened to you in life. Whatever hardship. Whatever pain. However significant those things are. They pale in comparison to the power you have to choose what to do now.

No matter what challenges, obstacles, or hardships we encounter along the way, we can always look for the easier, simpler path.