What If You’re Making It Harder Than It Needs to Be?

Ever catch yourself turning something that was supposed to feel joyful… into a low-key stress spiral?

In this solo episode, Tracy gets honest about her own pattern of making things harder than they need to be—and why so many of us confuse difficulty with importance. She reflects on a past moment in corporate life, a simple (but game-changing) line from a friend, and the invisible ways we create pressure that no one asked us to carry.

You’ll hear how her perspective started to shift after attending a retreat with podcast host and entrepreneur Cathy Heller, who reminded her: “Everyone wants to make life difficult, but it really can be easy.”

This isn’t about bypassing the hard stuff. It’s about noticing when you’re adding unnecessary weight—and giving yourself permission to choose something different.

In this episode, Tracy explores:

- Why ease can feel uncomfortable if you’re used to the hustle

- How we sometimes self-create stress just to feel like we’re “doing it right”

- Real-life moments that revealed a softer, more aligned way forward

Tune in if you’re craving:

➤ A little more ease

➤ A whole lot less pressure

➤ And a beautiful reminder that life doesn’t have to be heavy to be meaningful.

Sponsor:
This episode is sponsored by Kena Siu, Empowerment Coach and host of Midlife Butterfly. Follow her on Instagram @kenasiu and tune into her podcast for real talk and soul-deep transformation.

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Transcript

What if you're making it harder than it needs to be?

It gets to be easy life. That is, yep. You heard it, right? It gets to be easy. Let me just let that little thought, Jim just marinate with you for a sec. I've been sitting with this one lately. This idea that maybe just, maybe it gets to be easy. See, I didn't always believe that. In fact, a year ago I would've argued with you that that was absolutely not the case.

I had hard [00:01:00] earned lessons. I had a whole collection of reasons why life had to be hard if you were doing it right. I wore stress like a badge of honor, but now I'm starting to see it differently. Ease isn't laziness. It's alignment. And the more ease you choose, the easier life flows and choose is the key word.

You have to choose for your life to flow and for there to be ease. Now, if you're anything like me, you might feel a little resistance to that at first. Like, wait, what? That can't be right. If it's too easy, it must not be important. Right. Well, let's talk about that because lately I've noticed this sneaky little habit in myself where I start turning this [00:02:00] life that I've created a life I love into something a little stressful like.

It's like I can't help but sprinkle a little anxiety or drama on top, and I, I had to pause and ask, wait, why am I doing this? And if I'm being honest, I think I equate hard with important. Like if it's not hard, I must not be doing something meaningful. Or if I'm not hustling or juggling 17 tabs in my brain at once, am I even adulting?

I mean, is it just me? Is it, am I the only one who does this? Anyone else addicted to the hustle without even realizing it? When I think about this, it reminds me of something that happened years ago back when I was deep. In my corporate grind, one of our good friends was [00:03:00] visiting from LA and I remember feeling completely fried, so I asked him completely, seriously.

I. Do you know of any cool low stress careers out in California? Because in my mind, California was this dreamland where people surf before meetings and work on rooftops and create meaningful things without losing their minds in the process. He paused. He thought about it for a minute, and then he said, you know, I guess.

Anyone could make any job stressful. 

Oof. That was not what I wanted to hear, but it was exactly what I needed because I had to sit with that. He was right. [00:04:00] You know, the, the job wasn't the common denominator. I was. Am I making things stressful? And I, I had to really think like, I mean, yeah, I guess anyone could make any job stressful. It's kind of how you approach it, your attitude, your outlook, you know?

And another example is, I see this in my marriage all the time. The things that I lose sleep over. My husband doesn't even flinch. I'll be spiraling about something, and he's just cool as ever. He's my walking, talking barometer for what actually needs to be stressful and what doesn't, and spoiler alert again.

It's usually me. 

Feeling like you're in an identity crisis, but deep down, you know it's a rebirth. Kena Siu, empowerment, coach and [00:05:00] founder of the Wellbeing Project helps midlife women navigate big transitions like divorce grief, or starting over and reconnect with who they really are. Follow her on Instagram at.

K-E-N-A-S-I-U and check out her podcast Midlife Butterfly because it's your time to fly links and show notes.

So that was the beginning of a realization I've had to meet over and over and over again. Hi, I'm the problem. So since then I've started noticing a pattern. I've met people who live these beautiful uncomplicated lives. They're not burnt out, they're not spinning, and guess what? They're secret, [00:06:00] ease and flow.

And the more I'm around that energy, the more I realize. Those aren't the rewards of success, they're the reasons for it. That energy is magnetic, it's abundant, it's alive, and it's not about doing more. It's about allowing more. So last year I went to Cathy Heller's retreat. She's, if you haven't heard of her.

She's a podcast host, author, multi seven figure entrepreneur, and one of the most generous, real humans I've ever met. She's built this massive community of creatives and change makers by doing things her own way. She leads with her heart. So at this retreat, she got on stage and she said she doesn't plan her.

Talks. [00:07:00] Um, I was like, wait, what? Like no notes, no slides, just energy, just presence, just her. I literally raised my hand and I just had, I needed her to go back. Like, what? What, what do you mean? Um, I just asked, how do you do that? 'cause I'm the queen of making things more complicated than they need to be.

And she smiled and said. Everyone wants to make life difficult, but it really can be easy. And honestly, that's what I'm starting to see everywhere. I'm starting to see evidence of it everywhere. Another example is recently I had a couple of podcast guests reach out to reschedule. You know, life showed up for them and I loved it.

I loved the fact that they. I reached out and said, Hey, can we simply move this from this [00:08:00] date to another because of X, Y, and Z? And not only did it work out for them, it worked out for me like, let's do the things that just bring us a little bit of ease. And I paused and thought. What if they had gotten in their heads and convinced themselves that they couldn't reschedule?

No, I couldn't possibly reschedule. I've already said yes to this thing. None of us would've received the gift that came from that. Simple aligned, not right now. So why don't we choose ease more often? I'm gonna date myself here a little bit, but I'm wondering who else remembers those old Staples commercials, you know, with the Big red easy button.

What if that wasn't just a marketing thing? Like what, what if that was a way of life? Cathy, she shared that. She often just simply ask her team, when they're working on big projects, how can [00:09:00] we make this easier? How can we make it more fun? And that energy, that intention, when you come from that place, that's what people end up feeling and that's what they want more of.

They connect with that energy. So my beautiful friends, here's your gentle nudge, your invitation for this week. Where are you making things harder than they need to be? What could you soften? What could you let be easy, even just a little? Could you approach that one thing today with. Ease or curiosity, or dare I say, a little bit of playfulness, what would that feel like?

Because life doesn't have to be hard to be meaningful, it gets to be beautiful, it gets to be aligned. It gets to be easy. [00:10:00] And the more easy you choose, the easier it gets. So let that be your beautiful fix this week. Try it. And let's see where that energy takes you.