Hard Choices and Easy Living

I came across a point while reading The Art of Laziness that is insightful and I had not thought of before:

“You have to make hard choices in the short term to live an easy life in the long term. Being lazy is easy in the short run, but it will make your life harder in the long run. Doing is hard; not doing is even harder.”

Doing what’s hard now makes your life easier. 

This concept is easy to see with exercise and fitness. Making the hard choice to get up and work out makes your life easier as you prevent disease and degeneration that will seriously impair your life. 

Or nutrition. It’s difficult to order healthy food when the restaurant menu is in front of you, but easy to live with your choice the rest of the day and the next. It’s hard to abstain when out at a bar with friends, but easy livin’ the next morning. 

It’s also easy to see with money. Making the hard budgeting choices now will make the rest of your life considerably easier, assuming you are wisely allocating the money saved money. Overspending or using a credit card now will make life much harder for your future self.

It works with procrastination too. My method of overcoming procrastination at work is to consider the added stress of waiting to get the project done. If a project is due in two days, completing it today means less time with the burden hanging over me. Opting for the easier choice of postponing work until the last minute can lead to unnecessary stress throughout the waiting period. Moreover, last-minute efforts may result in subpar work, leading to additional stress as I navigate the challenges that stem from underperformance.

In relationships, especially for men, avoiding the straightforward approach of asking someone out can lead to unnecessary challenges. Waiting for the "right" moment may result in prolonged uncertainty, with the possibility that the person of interest is already in a relationship or not interested. Discovering this early on holds significant value compared to the easier but less productive route of avoidance. 

A year ago I was getting a weekly cold plunge, where you submerge yourself in 37-degree water for a couple of minutes. There are numerous health benefits to this practice, but I was most interested in the psychological effects. After doing the cold plunge, for the rest of the day – or the week even – I noticed how much easier difficult decisions and tasks became. There is something about overcoming all of the mental resistance to get in that water that reduces the power of that resistance in everyday tasks. I include this example because, now that I am thinking about this concept, it makes me want to get back into that practice. 

This concept also has a flip side that creates empathy and envy. 

When I turn it around and think about people who make the easy choice more often than not, I can imagine how much more difficult their lives must be. That makes me feel more compassionate for those making bad choices. And when I consider people who are better at making hard choices than I am, it makes me envious of how much easier their lives must be. 

Maybe the art of living well is as simple as always making the hardest choice. By making those tough choices, you're setting yourself up for a future that's much more relaxed and satisfying.