Easier Said, Than Done

“Just give it a try.”

“Put yourself out there.”

“You know what you should do…”

We’ve all been there. When we’re the ones that need something to change. When we’re on the side of a conversation where we’re getting the advice, and those on the other side are saying things we don’t want to hear. Not because what they have to say is wrong, but because it’s hard. They keep talking until we finally say:

“It’s easier said, than done.”

And like that—unless our friends or family are relentless—the conversation is over. We start talking about the football game or what we’re doing that weekend, and the subject is dropped. For now, everyone moves on with their lives, yet we are in the same place.

The phrase “Easier said, than done,” has been around for ages. According to this source, it was found in a book written as early as 1483. So, in other words, it has been our response to difficult advice for generations. But lately, I think we’re using it a bit too often. And I wonder if it is because technology has made things so easy for us.

Fifteen years ago, many of us needed to find a phone to call our friends, now we use the one in our pocket. We used to have to turn on the TV to get the weather, but now there’s an App for that. And we used to have to do research (in books!), or find a computer to look up information, but now we just look it up on our phones. So much of our life has been made easy by this little flat brick in our pocket, that I wonder if it is taking away our will to try.

Last week, I caught myself saying something was “easier said, than done,” to my husband about a thing he said. And inside, this question formed instantly:

“Just because it is easier to say, does that mean it shouldn’t be done?”

Just because something is hard, does that mean we don’t even try? Does that mean it’s not worth it, even if it means we find our way out of a dark place?

For the past eighteen years or so, I have been mentoring, coaching, or leading teens and young adults in varying capacities. And I have heard this phrase many times. When challenging a person to stretch themselves, to take the next right step for their lives, I have been met with:

“It’s easier said, than done.”

But what if all the things that are worth doing in life, really are easier to say that do? What if our confidence is supposed to come from doing hard things—yet we keep reading books on self-esteem instead? What if our sense of purpose is found in serving those around us, when we keep thinking they’re supposed to care for us? Or more haunting—what if the dreams of our hearts are supposed to happen, but don’t because we think the things we have to do are too risky or too difficult? What if we’re the only ones standing in our way, all because things really are:

Easier said, than done.

When did we become afraid of the hard things? When did rejection or failure become worse than stagnating as individuals? When did comfort and ease become more important to us than really living?

If you are blessed with some truth-tellers in your life, who are giving you good advice, I invite you to listen. When you feel tempted to write something off because it is easier said, than done, I encourage you to ask yourself if it is worth doing anyway. And if you feel stuck in a difficult place, I invite you to take another look at the possible ways out that you may have already written off as too hard.

Everyday, people survive unimaginable horrors or loss. People beat cancer.Women birth babies.They climb mountains and run marathons after terrible injuries. They forgive the unforgivable. We as humans, have been created to do hard things. So let us not be the people hiding behind the excuse that things are “easier said, than done.”