Trying Too Hard: Effort, Exhaustion, and the Path to Ease

In this episode, I’m joined by Anadi Taylor for a reflective conversation about the tendency to 'try too hard' and the often unseen cost of living in constant effort.

We explore what “trying too hard” really means, why so many people fall into this pattern, and how the short-term rewards of approval, achievement, and control can quietly lead to exhaustion, burnout, and disconnection from ourselves.

Together, we look at how early conditioning, parental expectations, and social and peer pressures shape this drive to over-effort, often without our conscious awareness. 

We also explore what becomes possible when we introduce greater stillness within our actions - not through withdrawal or passivity, but through clarity, presence, and a genuine willingness to let go of patterns that no longer serve.

This conversation is an invitation to question where effort has become habit, and how meaningful change begins with the true desire to live differently.

This conversation with Anadi Taylor forms part of my ongoing series, 'The Practise of Being', a collection of reflections and conversations exploring how we live, act, and relate when we soften habitual striving and return to presence, clarity, and inner ease.