Why I try to believe everything is easy

Everything complex can be broken down into a sequence of simple steps. Despite this, I think people struggle to do complex things for three reasons.

1. Simple steps that lead to complex things seem harder than simple steps in isolation.
2. The leaps between steps always seem farther apart before starting.
3. You expect complex things to be difficult, so even if the steps can be easy, you assume they must be hard.

In my eyes blindly believing nothing is complex, is the key to doing complex things.

1. If you assume everything is manageable, complex outcomes just look like a simple step in isolation and you start tackling things with enthusiasm.
2. When you tackle things with enthusiasm you realise the leaps between steps aren’t as wide as you thought because you learn from each prior step how best to navigate to the next one.
3. When you frame complex things as manageable, the actually easy steps never feel harder then they’re meant to.

I think, secretly, everyone knows this to be true – because on the other side of complex things, everything is clear and manageable. Put yourself in the shoes of “you before complexity”, before you learned to code, did your degree, or worked your current job. Think about how daunting your life would be to “you before complexity”. Now, think about how mundane it is to you. Imagine if you’d just started thinking like that.

I think with enough practice this attitude helps you become the person who both views complex things as manageable and actually finds them so.