“Looks easy…”

 Shared by Breanne Smedley

I remember one of my professors in the physical education program once said,

“There are two types of teachers. Ones that make teaching easy. And ones that make teaching LOOK easy.”

There’s a distinction there that makes all the difference.

It was the same thought that I had when I first saw one of my CrossFit coaches performing a bar muscle-up.

“That looks easy,” I thought, as I watched her gracefully maneuver her body from hanging below the pull-up bar to the top in one swift motion.

Of course, when I tried, I quickly realized that it wasn’t easy at all. 
I could barely get my chest to the level of the bar. 
Feet kicking, elbows chicken winged out.

It wasn’t until over a year later, after building strength, performing drills, and practicing, that I could complete just one.

And even at that, it wasn’t pretty.

It seems natural to want things in life to be easy.

When, in fact, many things that appear to be easy are a result of countless hours, practice, and mistakes.

But some people just aren’t interested in that.

Around this time of the year, before summer volleyball ramps up, I get questions from players and parents asking if there are options for financial help to pay for the cost of camps and programs.

It’s a common request, sports can get ridiculously expensive, and I’m happy to help offset those costs.

So, I’ve worked hard to create opportunities for families to earn money to cover most, if not all, of these expenses.

I outline the options for players:

Players can help volunteer at our youth camps.
Help, and participate in our summer tournaments.
Get sponsors for our tournaments (I even provide them with the letter and step by step guidelines of “how to get a sponsor”).
Parents can help with registration or food for the camp. 
Apply for one of the scholarships we offer.

Last year, the players that utilized these options had almost no summer volleyball expenses.

But, I still get a few players who respond with, “Anything else…?”

Ie., “Is there an option where you just give me the money…?”
Ie., “I thought this would be easy…”

Few people, though, achieve anything without the prerequisite work.

I say few, because there are those exceptions.

The ones that cheat their way through, cut corners.

Or, more commonly these days, have mom and dad mow the path before them. 
Cutting down all the obstacles in the way.

But, it always catches up with those people.

And success, without the work, is never truly appreciated.

The badge of “it looks easy” from the outside is actually not easy at all.

It’s earned. 
Through hard, exhausting work. 
Sacrifice. 
Struggle.

So, we can try to avoid this. Keep looking for the easy way.

Or, we can embrace the fact that anything worth achieving is never easy.

It just looks that way, to those that don’t understand that what looks easy hardly ever is.

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#MindfullyEvolving

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