"What's easy to do is easy not to do."

I want to feature a timeless quote from one of the founding fathers of personal development, Jim Rohn. Jim Rohn has a way of distilling the complexities in life into the simplest points that anyone can understand. One of my favorite Jim Rohn quotes is “What’s easy to do is easy not to do.”

This directly addresses one of the most frustrating components of personal development and living a good life. If we know what we should be doing, then why is it that we don’t do it? It’s easy to order a side salad instead of fries. It’s easy to stop working at 5pm on a work day so you can enjoy your evening with loved ones. It’s easy to pick up a book for 5 minutes a night before you go to sleep. It’s easy to set goals that inspire you.

But guess what, it’s also easy not to order the salad, stop work on time, read a book, or set goals. That’s why Rohn’s biggest recommendation for this is “Do not neglect to do the things that are easy to do.” Because if you do, then you must accept that you made the choice not to do it. 

It all comes back to our choices. At any given moment we’re making choices that impact our lives. As Darren Hardy, Jim Rohn’s protégé puts it: “You make your choices and then your choices make you.”

The challenge is, there are many things that get in the way of us making good choices. Our physical and emotional state, desires, circumstances and necessities all play a role in subtly influencing our choices. And our minds try to convince us to choose something other than what we know we want to do through acts of self-sabotage. For that reason we must remain vigilant about pursuing what we want and let our voice of reason be louder than our voice of complacency.

So what are the things right in front of you today that you know you should be doing, that are easy to do, yet you’re not doing them? Pick one and commit to doing it with conviction and discipline. Even if it’s only for a week, and you’ll see how your life gets unstuck and unfolds!