I love a quote. When I see one that causes me to stop and think, especially when I am busy…I save it.

I am afraid I have totally forgotten where this one was from so I am unable to credit the source.

I know I have spoken about this before, and there are many different ways I have conveyed this message, so it just serves as another great reminder.

“Strangely, life gets harder when you try to make it easy.

• Exercising might be hard, but never moving makes life harder.

• Mastering your craft is hard, but having no skills is harder.

• Uncomfortable conversations are hard, but avoiding every conflict is harder.

Easy has a cost.”

Now that will either make you smile or it may sting a little bit…depending where you are right now and what actions you are doing on repeat to keep you there.

I could just leave it there for you to ponder on…but just in case you are in any doubt, Ill give it some context from my point of view.

At the moment this quote makes me feel good, because I know I have been working hard, in a lot of areas of my life…

• I am eating well
• I am mindful of my sugar choices and don’t have it as often
• I have not had any alcohol this month (not doing a challenge, it’s just choice)
• I am getting up earlier
• I am going to bed earlier
• I am cold dipping in my tub
• I am keeping to my new meditation practice (although I have reduced the length of time of each session so I can keep consistent)
• I am still moving my body, even though I am having to work around my knee pain.
• I am staying focused with my work as I have a lot on at the moment.
• I am creating boundaries around making content and time spent on social media.

Now some of these choices can feel hard. Sometimes it’s tempting to…

• Crack open the wine when I am watching Strictly on a Saturday night
• Press the snooze button
• Watch that extra episode on Netflix at night
• Skip the meditation practice
• Give the cold tub a miss
• Don’t bother with the weights session
• Scroll aimlessly on my phone
• Have the M&S Gastro Pub meal deal with the Tom Kerridge cookie dough pudding(I very nearly did this on Sunday as it’s so good, but my commitment to myself was stronger then the desire)

This is how I am rolling at the moment, and I am feeling the benefit, both mentally and physically. Now I just need to point out that I do have periods of time where it can be the complete opposite and I choose the ‘easy option’ and so don’t do any of those things I have just listed.

That’s real life.

However, BOTH options can feel HARD!

Yes, it can feel hard, using some discipline to do all those habits that I find lead to a happier, healthier me…but NOTHING is as hard as as coping with the feelings if I don’t…now that’s HARD!

I am sure we have all been there. The low mood and apathy that is created by repeating unhelpful behaviours and feeling stuck. That is hard. It’s hard because we habitually chose the easy option…so ‘easy has a cost’

Oh and just a reminder that perfection is overrated so it’s more than ok to sometimes choose the ‘easy option’ as it’s what you do MOST of the time that makes the biggest difference and create your reality.