Green Where You Water It

When you go into something thinking it will be simple, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. The first setback—an unexpected bill, a tough learning curve, or a stalled project—becomes a reason to quit. You feel blindsided because the difficulty wasn’t part of your mental plan.

It’s like starting a marathon thinking it’s a casual stroll around the block. Once you realize it’s 42 kilometers, not 2 kilometers, your motivation drains away. Not because you can’t do it, but because you weren’t mentally prepared for the distance.

On the flip side, when you start with the expectation that it will be hard—maybe even extremely hard—you approach each challenge with the mindset of “this is part of the process.” You’re not surprised by slow progress or unexpected obstacles. Instead, you’ve already factored them in.

Truth is: worthwhile goals—whether it’s getting out of debt, building a business, learning a new skill, writing a novel or transforming your health—are rarely quick or easy. If they were, everyone would already be doing them, and they wouldn’t be special.

Think about it, if financial freedom could be achieved in a few weeks, or if writing a book took only a weekend, we’d all be wealthy authors. But the reality is that these achievements take time, persistence, and a willingness to walk through the long, arduous, and sometimes boring middle stages.

When I first started writing my novel, I knew it would take months—maybe even years. That knowledge kept me going. Each week, instead of feeling like I was failing because I wasn’t anywhere near “The End,” I saw myself moving forward—slowly, but forward all the same. It was expecting that this would be a long process, helped keep me going.

In personal finance, expecting difficulty helps you prepare for it. If you know budgeting will feel restrictive at first, you won’t quit the first time you want to overspend. If you know saving for a down payment might take years, you can pace yourself rather than burn out in frustration.

In your career, if you know a promotion will require months (or years) of skill-building, you’ll be ready to put in the extra effort and not resent the process.

In life, expecting difficulty makes your victories sweeter. Every milestone feels earned, not given. And because you were ready for the grind, you’re still standing when others have dropped out.

Bottom line: Go in expecting hard. That way, when it is hard, you keep going—because you knew it would be, and you’ve already decided you’re in it for the long haul.