It's Easier Than You Think

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. -Seneca

It’s easier than you think to do what needs to be done. Anticipation and worry are terrible and usually make this thing to be worse than what it actually will be like.

Perhaps you want to tell your father that you love him. Perhaps it’s been a very long time since you have. Perhaps you’ve had a fight and haven’t spoken in a while, but you want to put that behind you. What’s the worst that could happen? He won’t say it back? He’ll mock you for being such a sissy as to say such a thing? He’ll say he loves you, too? Sometimes this last is scariest of all for some people. You can go and see him face to face and tell him then. But that may be too difficult for you. You can call him up and say it to him over the phone. But that may be too difficult for you. Then you can write him and say it to him in a letter. You won’t have to deal with him directly, and the response from him will be delayed. Perhaps that’s too difficult, too, and so you don’t do anything. You feel like it’s important for you to tell your father that you love him, that he doesn’t have much longer to live, to hear you say the words or read them off the page. But you feel it’s too difficult. It’ll be easier than you think. It’s the worry that keeps you from doing what needs to be done. It’s the negative anticipation that is barring you from making this supposedly-huge leap. But once you get it over with, once you sit down and do it, you’ll be amazed that you thought it so difficult later. It’s the worry that is beating you down.

Get out a piece of paper and put a pen next to it. That’s it. Just do that. You’re done for now. Tomorrow, address an envelope to your father. That’s it. The next day, put your own address as the return address and add a stamp. You’ve done this to hundreds if not thousands of envelopes in your life. You can do this. It’s not that difficult a thing. It’s only when you tie it up with the emotions, the worry, the anticipation, the dread of telling your father you love him that you find yourself paralyzed and unable to put a stamp on an envelope. So separate it. Tell your father you love him later, not the same day. Take this simple task that you’ve done countless times and do it. Just that. Separate out what is to come, and what you fear will come after that, away from this one task that you can do. The next day, write “Dear Dad” on the paper and leave it alone. The next day, write “I love you” on the same piece of paper and leave it alone. You’ve written “Dear Dad” before, just as you’ve put a stamp on an envelope before. You’ve (probably) written “I love you” on a piece of paper before, and you’re doing it again one more time. Don’t let your worry and fear and dread prevent you from doing the simple task of putting 8 letters onto paper. The next day, sign it. How many things have you signed in the past week? Checks, birthday cards, credit card receipts, and so on. You can sign a piece of paper, even if it does have “Dear Dad, I love you” on it. The next day, fold up the paper and seal it in your envelope. The next day, mail it. Now, this last step is incredibly hard. After actually starting with the piece of paper and pen, this is the second hardest step, but don’t be discouraged. You’ve mailed things before. You can mail this, too. And if you can’t, give it to someone else to mail. Or ask them to mail it and tell them where it is – you don’t even have to physically hand it to them. Just be sure it gets mailed.

There, in one week, you’ve managed to do something that you’ve been dreading for years. You’ve told your father that you loved him. Congratulations. That is less worry and fear within you to hold you back, to tie up your energy and life force in something that doesn’t serve you. And that’s how you birth the Future into something you want. You free up your energy, time, and life force from the things that are holding you back so that you can intentionally shape the Future.

If you are like most people I know, you have many regrets and wishes and “ought to”’s and “should have”’s. And they’re taking up too much of your time and energy. Even if you only think about them once in a while, that’s too often. Clean up each of them that you can. Do what you can that doesn’t hurt others and do what you can for yourself about the rest. Release the things that are holding you back, holding you down, tying up your life. You can be free of all that. You can direct your Future. You can direct the Future of the world, when you have the room in your life to look around and see where you want to go. Free yourself and birth the Future. You can do it. You are amazing, and you’ll be stunned what your life will be like when you free your heart and mind. You can do it. You’re too worth it not to.