Over the course of the past couple weeks, this idea of effortlessness keeps coming up in my conversations. Specifically, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it takes to work effortlessly.
First, there was the conversation around the desire for effortless income. Wouldn’t we all love that? Don’t we all aspire toward that, at least unconsciously?
Then, there was the conversation around effortless work, not necessarily as it applied to income, because in this particular conversation, income wasn’t an issue. But there was still work to be done – it would just be nice if it was effortless AND fulfilling.
What does it mean to work effortlessly?
The idea of effortlessness in work, money, and all things, in my opinion, is an oxymoron. To be effortless, one assumes there is no work involved, but quite the contrary is true. There must be work put forth in the beginning to bring about an effortless state. There must be effort in work, and work is required in one way or another, to receive the rewards.
For example, you don’t just start receiving clients out the blue. You may hope this is the case, and perhaps, over time it becomes the case, but at first, you must position yourself to receive clients. You must put forth effort through marketing and communication to let people know you are open for business. After awhile, you may do a good enough job that receiving clients becomes effortless. For many people this is the goal. But it doesn’t start this way.
The dream of effortless living has us daydreaming about the end result and conveniently forgetting about the work required to get there – the effort involved in this desired state of effortlessness.
For some this daydreaming stops us in our tracks and forbids us from moving forward. We forget that there must be work involved and decide instead to “leave it to the universe” or “go with the flow” because it’s easier. There is merit to these phrases, but at the same time they are an excuse to get out of the necessary work.
For others, the idea of effortlessness is so foreign, it’s a joke – myth. Hard work, struggle, obstacles, and fighting is all that is known by those who define effortlessness as laziness.
The balance between work and play brings forth an effortless day
There is a middle ground. It’s that space where you do the hard work up front and enjoy the fruits of your labor. At a certain point, there is a letting go that happens to allow you to slow down, open up, and receive. If you miss this part, you risk a hardening of your soul that can quickly lead to pessimism, burnout, and even illness.
And finally there is the idea that to work effortlessly the work itself is so enjoyable it instead feels like play. This is ideal, but also unrealistic. There will always be parts of your work you dislike and most of the time there is no way around it. You could just not do these parts of your work, but then you would compromise your success.
Effortlessness then is the ability to both work hard and let go. A fine balance indeed, and one that, not surprisingly, takes work. Oxymoron, indeed.
