A nice adage for life is, “Simple not Easy”, and can be used for daily, or for an excuse to not get the work done! And even though it’s true, should we excuse ourselves from the harder things in life? If you read last month’s blog you know doing hard things leads to Resilience, an admiral character trait. Doing hard things that others are not willing to do also leads to higher levels of success. Doing hard things can be related to changing those ineffective (bad, if you will) habits. I’ve been reading a couple of books about habit changes in order to improve who I want to be. All of the suggestions are simple, yet not easy. According to a google search about 1 in 3 Americans are overweight. Weight gains and losses are something I’ve struggled with for decades to keep in check. Every new diet works, until I go off of it and gain even more weight than when I began the latest-greatest eating plan (or non-eating plan). I think I’ve finally landed on something that could be sustainable for my body and age and lifestyle. I’ll let you know after I’ve done more of the work of it. I have experienced the euphoria of its simplicity, yet it’s not always easy. I can basically eat whatever I want and have found that I have been graced with the return of actually feeling full before my plate is clean. One of the many wins I’ve experienced so far on this old journey of body maintenance is with a new, but really old, idea of eating schedules and amounts and types of food. More to be revealed… Another example of simple-not-easy is forgiveness. Simple to say, “I’m sorry” not easy to say the words and really mean them. I know I have to come to terms, first, that I was wrong! Then I have to say the words out loud and I don’t always mean them heartfelt the first time. Often, I have to repeat the process, I have to realize again, that I was wrong, express regret, and repeat that I am sorry, please forgive me. The good news is that eventually it sinks in and is genuine. Simple not easy thoughts, especially as I age: getting my feet and legs into pants or shorts or skorts, packing a lunch and remembering to put the protein on the salad (because otherwise it’s lettuce and tomato), integrity-doing the right thing even when no one is looking, and returning a book I’ve been loaned or borrowed. Because I have close to 2000 of my own personal books in my collection, they have now become furniture themselves. Stacks of them around my small house have become side tables, room separators, and columns. Okay, so I exaggerate a little. Most people know I love to read and collect books and when my friends read a good book, they will offer to let me read their copy. Unless I get right to reading it, the book can get lost in a pile of other good books to read. The simple solution is to have one space or place to put the borrowed item or mark it with a special bookmark or put it in a bag in a conspicuous place. It’s not always that easy though, especially if it was given with the caveat to just return it someday. No urgency, no priority, and then no special attention to where I put it down for future consideration. As I age, I have noticed that my balance is not what it used to be. Simply putting on my pants, from undergarments to a multitude of different clothes selections, has become a challenge. I frequently get dressed in the dark (I lay my clothes out the night before so I don’t disturb my partner if he decides to sleep in a little). I used to be able to free form this task, now I make sure I have a chair back to support myself as I balance navigating my foot and leg through the leg holes. Either that or I arrange it in order of getting dressed to be able to sit down while putting on things my legs go through. This also may be why my style has changed to simple shirt dresses-verses the head or buttons down the front for easy on and off! Hopping around in the dark or tripping on my pants partway through the opening is hilarious, but also, dangerous if I tip over and hit my head or land on my knees. Moving from one room to the next and remembering why I am on this journey is a challenge. Simple task: I want to get the paper I copied out of the office and sit in my easy chair to read it and highlight with a marker. Oops, I forgot the marker, and get out of my chair, walk to the office, stand in front of my desk, and realize I cannot remember why I am in front of my desk. Not easy to remember a marker when I finished reading an important point, got out of my chair, walked around the dog who woke up and wants to go outside, noticed a piece of errant grass laying on the floor and bent over to pick it up and put it in the garbage, and saw that my partner’s shirt is hanging half off the hanger out of the office closet so now I’m in front of my desk wondering why? Multitasking has been declared a big no-no for anyone these days. However, in the morning getting ready for the day means making breakfast, packing a lunch, and planning for dinner in that first hour of preparation. Is it any wonder that the lunch salad requires multiple pieces from various kitchen areas and gets mixed up with breakfast and dinner plans? Cut the lettuce, cut the tomatoes, peel the egg, chop the celery, where’s the cheese, get something crunchy to munch on for a snack, lid went on the salad bowl (although it was incomplete), the pieces for dinner are put in other containers or baggies, and the toast is up and ready for butter. Arriving at lunch I open the lunchbox and the salad container only to discover the protein for the salad was left in the fridge and the cheese for tacos at dinner is in the lunchbox. Simple to cut, chop, separate, and sort, not easy to put everything in the right space for the right meal! Selling or buying a house? Simple, the decision is made, your bank account states you are ready, you know the neighborhood you want to move to, but not easy. You can get any information off of the internet, but is it reliable and trustworthy? Do you have a professional, reliable, personable agent who likes to have a little fun along the way? Can you remember her name? Is she anywhere on the socials that you can find her? What is the first step, and the second and so on until the transaction is complete? Do you have the proper forms and documents that make the money exchange legal and protects you? What about trusting other people involved? How do you protect yourself from that liability? See? Simple, not easy. That’s the joy of my job. I have all these details and tools at my disposal (for a fee, of course) and I vet the other parties in the transaction. I can tell you who the trusted and recommended partners are in the process. Thanks for letting me share my Simple Not Easy thoughts. I’ll be back at the end of the month (July) since I missed the deadline for June-simple to set a deadline, not always easy to achieve! Lori Zurcher" />
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Simple Not Easy

Simple Not Easy

  • By: AZ Arizona Realty Group at EXP Realty
  • Posted: July 02, 2024

A nice adage for life is, “Simple not Easy”, and can be used for daily, or for an excuse to not get the work done! And even though it’s true, should we excuse ourselves from the harder things in life? If you read last month’s blog you know doing hard things leads to Resilience, an admiral character trait. Doing hard things that others are not willing to do also leads to higher levels of success. Doing hard things can be related to changing those ineffective (bad, if you will) habits. I’ve been reading a couple of books about habit changes in order to improve who I want to be. All of the suggestions are simple, yet not easy.

According to a google search about 1 in 3 Americans are overweight. Weight gains and losses are something I’ve struggled with for decades to keep in check. Every new diet works, until I go off of it and gain even more weight than when I began the latest-greatest eating plan (or non-eating plan). I think I’ve finally landed on something that could be sustainable for my body and age and lifestyle. I’ll let you know after I’ve done more of the work of it. I have experienced the euphoria of its simplicity, yet it’s not always easy. I can basically eat whatever I want and have found that I have been graced with the return of actually feeling full before my plate is clean. One of the many wins I’ve experienced so far on this old journey of body maintenance is with a new, but really old, idea of eating schedules and amounts and types of food. More to be revealed…

Another example of simple-not-easy is forgiveness. Simple to say, “I’m sorry” not easy to say the words and really mean them. I know I have to come to terms, first, that I was wrong! Then I have to say the words out loud and I don’t always mean them heartfelt the first time. Often, I have to repeat the process, I have to realize again, that I was wrong, express regret, and repeat that I am sorry, please forgive me. The good news is that eventually it sinks in and is genuine.

Simple not easy thoughts, especially as I age: getting my feet and legs into pants or shorts or skorts, packing a lunch and remembering to put the protein on the salad (because otherwise it’s lettuce and tomato), integrity-doing the right thing even when no one is looking, and returning a book I’ve been loaned or borrowed.

Because I have close to 2000 of my own personal books in my collection, they have now become furniture themselves. Stacks of them around my small house have become side tables, room separators, and columns. Okay, so I exaggerate a little. Most people know I love to read and collect books and when my friends read a good book, they will offer to let me read their copy. Unless I get right to reading it, the book can get lost in a pile of other good books to read. The simple solution is to have one space or place to put the borrowed item or mark it with a special bookmark or put it in a bag in a conspicuous place. It’s not always that easy though, especially if it was given with the caveat to just return it someday. No urgency, no priority, and then no special attention to where I put it down for future consideration.

As I age, I have noticed that my balance is not what it used to be. Simply putting on my pants, from undergarments to a multitude of different clothes selections, has become a challenge. I frequently get dressed in the dark (I lay my clothes out the night before so I don’t disturb my partner if he decides to sleep in a little). I used to be able to free form this task, now I make sure I have a chair back to support myself as I balance navigating my foot and leg through the leg holes. Either that or I arrange it in order of getting dressed to be able to sit down while putting on things my legs go through. This also may be why my style has changed to simple shirt dresses-verses the head or buttons down the front for easy on and off! Hopping around in the dark or tripping on my pants partway through the opening is hilarious, but also, dangerous if I tip over and hit my head or land on my knees.

Moving from one room to the next and remembering why I am on this journey is a challenge. Simple task: I want to get the paper I copied out of the office and sit in my easy chair to read it and highlight with a marker. Oops, I forgot the marker, and get out of my chair, walk to the office, stand in front of my desk, and realize I cannot remember why I am in front of my desk. Not easy to remember a marker when I finished reading an important point, got out of my chair, walked around the dog who woke up and wants to go outside, noticed a piece of errant grass laying on the floor and bent over to pick it up and put it in the garbage, and saw that my partner’s shirt is hanging half off the hanger out of the office closet so now I’m in front of my desk wondering why?

Multitasking has been declared a big no-no for anyone these days. However, in the morning getting ready for the day means making breakfast, packing a lunch, and planning for dinner in that first hour of preparation. Is it any wonder that the lunch salad requires multiple pieces from various kitchen areas and gets mixed up with breakfast and dinner plans? Cut the lettuce, cut the tomatoes, peel the egg, chop the celery, where’s the cheese, get something crunchy to munch on for a snack, lid went on the salad bowl (although it was incomplete), the pieces for dinner are put in other containers or baggies, and the toast is up and ready for butter. Arriving at lunch I open the lunchbox and the salad container only to discover the protein for the salad was left in the fridge and the cheese for tacos at dinner is in the lunchbox. Simple to cut, chop, separate, and sort, not easy to put everything in the right space for the right meal!

Selling or buying a house? Simple, the decision is made, your bank account states you are ready, you know the neighborhood you want to move to, but not easy. You can get any information off of the internet, but is it reliable and trustworthy? Do you have a professional, reliable, personable agent who likes to have a little fun along the way? Can you remember her name? Is she anywhere on the socials that you can find her? What is the first step, and the second and so on until the transaction is complete? Do you have the proper forms and documents that make the money exchange legal and protects you? What about trusting other people involved? How do you protect yourself from that liability? See? Simple, not easy. That’s the joy of my job. I have all these details and tools at my disposal (for a fee, of course) and I vet the other parties in the transaction. I can tell you who the trusted and recommended partners are in the process.

Thanks for letting me share my Simple Not Easy thoughts. I’ll be back at the end of the month (July) since I missed the deadline for June-simple to set a deadline, not always easy to achieve!

Lori Zurcher