Don't Be Afraid of Effort

Read time: 6 minutes

Hey, welcome back.

Last week, I wrote about why success moves in cycles, not straight lines - and why the dips often hold the best lessons.

You can read that (and all past issues, here).

I've just returned from a lovely weekend away with 22 founders in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco - doing some great soul searching, and thought provoking conversations and ideas I'll be sharing here over the next few weeks to challenge you with some thoughts too....

One of those thoughts is ease vs effort - something that keeps showing up everywhere - from founders to creators to people just trying to change their lives.
We don’t have a talent problem.
We have an effort problem.

The Addiction to Easy

Somewhere along the way, we all became allergic to effort.
We want things to feel “aligned.”
We want work that feels “flowy.”
We want progress without pain, results without resistance, confidence without chaos. Gen Z much?

And yet - every single meaningful thing I’ve ever achieved came with effort. Not once did I feel “in flow” at the beginning. I mean my ADHD is so bad that feeling in flow is insanely rare, but I still dont give up.

The first few months of writing felt clunky.
Learning to manage people was confusing and emotional.
Even getting back into shape felt humiliating.

But that’s the thing about effort - it’s not supposed to feel elegant. It’s supposed to feel awkward.
Ease only exists because effort came first.

Why Everyone’s Stuck in Neutral

We live in a world that rewards intensity and ignores consistency.
People start things with passion and drop them when it gets repetitive.

But repetition is the whole point.
Every time you do something hard, you’re not just building skill - you’re building tolerance.
You’re teaching your brain, “This is safe. This is what we do now.”

That’s how transformation actually happens.
Not through massive breakthroughs, but through thousands of tiny, boring repetitions, your future self will thank you for.

I’ve seen people chase “alignment” for years because the moment effort shows up, they assume they’re doing it wrong.
No. That discomfort is the signal.
It means you’re stretching into something new. If anything, when things get easy and you're in too much flow - maybe that's a negative signal, no matter how nice it feels to do fuck all and get rewarded for it.

Effort is a Skill

Here’s what I’ve learned: effort is not just a trait. It’s a skill you can train.

When you choose hard things regularly - writing when uninspired, exercising when tired, sitting with silence instead of scrolling - your brain adapts.

Neuroscience calls it neuroplasticity. It’s the process where effort literally rewires the circuits of focus and persistence in your brain.

Effort changes how your mind handles resistance.
The first time you try, you sweat. The fifth time, you still sweat.
But the tenth time, it becomes routine. And yes, you still sweat.
That’s not less effort - that’s more efficiency.

Ease is what happens when your brain becomes fluent in difficulty.

Effort vs. Efficiency

We confuse the two all the time.
Efficiency is about doing something faster.
Effort is about doing something better.

You don’t earn efficiency until you’ve put in the effort.
You can’t automate skill before you’ve mastered it manually.

Every craftsperson knows this.
The best musicians still practice scales.
The best athletes still stretch before they move.
The best leaders still reflect before they act.

If you want to feel less friction, go through more friction.
There’s no shortcut to fluency.

When You Stop Fighting Effort

Something interesting happens when you stop resenting hard work.
The stress disappears.

When I was younger, I used to resist anything that felt tough.
I’d overthink, procrastinate, or quit halfway - all in the name of “flow.”
But I later realised the mental energy spent avoiding hard things was way more draining than just doing them. I also never got better at stuff but always felt empty, anxious, depressed and down on myself.

Effort doesn’t actually exhaust you.
Resistance to effort does.

Once I started leaning in, life got easier - not because the tasks changed, but because my relationship to them did.

The Paradox of Ease

Everyone wants to feel calm, confident, in control.
But those things don’t come from avoiding challenge.
They come from mastering it.

Ease is earned through exposure.
If you always choose comfort, you’ll stay fragile.
If you embrace discomfort, you’ll eventually feel unstoppable.

That’s the paradox - effort is what gives you the peace you’re chasing.

A Challenge for This Week

Ask yourself this:
Where am I choosing easy when I should be choosing effort?

Then pick one thing that feels uncomfortable - and do it on purpose.
Write the page. Make the call. Go to the gym. Have the hard conversation.

Do it not because it’s enjoyable, but because it trains the muscle that makes life easier later.

Because the only way to become effortless - is through effort.

Don't be afraid of effort.

Dan

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