Does It Look Easy to You?
While I was watching the Olympics, I was constantly amazed at how easy the athletes make their sport appear. Look at Michael Phelps: That man swims like a fish. Break a world record? No problem. It’s just another day in the pool.
Even our community here at MwP and Escaping Reality has told us we make what we do look easy.
Training
The next time you see someone making what they do look easy, think about the hard work and training that went into that performance or project. It may have taken decades years or more for that individual to reach that level of skill. You’re just seeing the end result.
For example, my Dad enjoys painting landscapes. I’ve watched him struggle with a few paintings while I was growing up. Some would take years and he still wouldn’t be satisfied. Of course, only he could see the flaws.
But the people who view his paintings see something amazing, something they themselves can’t do and usually wish they could. Hell, even I wish I could paint the way Dad does (click here to see his latest masterpiece). He makes it look easy, because he put in the work to reach that level.
If At First You Don’t Succeed…Try Something Else
Making something look easy has its drawbacks for those trying to emulate what you’ve done. I’ve tried many times to paint. Brushes hate me; they really do. College painting classes were torture and so were the classes on drawing figures.
I would look at what others did and get extremely frustrated that I couldn’t do the same. It was in my blood, I understood the underlying concepts, and I could visualize how it should be done. I should be able to do as they did, right?
Well, no, Harry, not necessarily.
I know what I can do, though. I can write and I can design. I can’t paint on canvas well, but I can paint very well with a computer, whether it’s words or images. I can have fun with what I can’t do well, and I focus on my strengths on what comes easy to me.
I’m curious now. What would you love to do and think should be easy but really isn’t? And what could you do that you’d enjoy even more instead? Is there something related that would be closer to your strengths?
43 Responses to “Does It Look Easy to You?”
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Hi Harry. Writing fiction, especially long form, is something that I would think would be easier for me than it is – I’ve been reading and thinking about the stuff for decades.
I actually started a novel about a year ago, got about 15 pages into it and…
Still on the “and”. Of course, I did start blogging…
Seriously, though, I’m sure it’s mainly a case of inexperience. i can rite pretty gud storeez when I wurk at it, but it sumtimez its two darn hard…
Mark Dykemans last blog post..More on hyperconnectivity and six – or three – degrees of separation
For me it is running. Running should be dead easy!
I’ve got the power, got the coordination, the flexibility. I’m a dancer, can dance for hours, can do aerobics or step workouts for hours (these look easy on me), I do strength workouts. I’ve got long legs, good muscles.
So by all rights I should be able to run. Fast and long.
But no, after as little as 50 meters I start to pant, add some more and I’m seriously out of breath. I’m doing something devastatingly wrong here.
I always hated running, but after decades of letting running get the better of me I made a decision to befriend it: I’m studying running technique according to Feldenkrais (Jack Heggie, Wim Luijpers), practising a lot of related body movements.
Until it looks easy on me!
And then I might pick up swimming. Hating it, I can’t even stay afloat for a second.
Harry,
I love that photo. Really nice. And the painting—wow. Is the scene near you? (Forgive me I’m far west-ignorant.)
As to being terrible with brushes—you don’t need my advice, but brushes aren’t meant to do the same things in everyone’s hands. When a brush is in your hands it isn’t meant to do your father’s work.
A lot of people have that problem with writing as well. Dave Barry is not meant to write what Ernest Hemingway did, and hopefully
he accepts that.
What would I love to do, think should be easy, but isn’t?
Meeting/ talking to new people.
I do it daily—it’s part of my job! —but it’s never easy. I know it’s a breeze for some, and I think it should be for me. I read books about it, I speak publicly, I’ve done a lot of acting, all in attempts to get over it, and I face the fear every frackin’ day, but the fear never lessens at all. I’m as shy as when I was two, though I’ve actively fought it at least since I was a teen. I keep two phrases in my head all the time. “Self-conscious” is another word for “selfish,” so focus on the other guy; and they’re only “new” for a minute. After that you know them.
Good mantras. They help me push through but they never lessen the pain, darn it.
Nice post as always. I’ll be thinking about this all day.
Regards,
Kelly
Kellys last blog post..Inspiration Points: How Much Money Should You Be Charging?
First of all, wow! to you dad’s latest masterpiece. The detail is amazing. Okay, now what do I wish I could do better than I do? play the piano and sing. I am okay with the piano, good with the singing. Not brilliant at either and that frustrates me. What do I focus on instead? Writing. The arTEEST in me knows I am good at that. And any kind of writing I set my mind to: technical, humourous, descriptive. So, I play piano and sing for myself. I writer for others.
Urban Panthers last blog post..The chairdrobe defines my life
Okay, so I write well, I just don’t spell check well. Let me try again:
So, I play piano and sing for myself. I WRITE for others.
Urban Panthers last blog post..The chairdrobe defines my life
Panther,
Singing! Aah. The one thing sheer perseverance can’t help me with.
No complaints, but I never ask. That way I can go on thinking I’m wonderful. Maybe I am?
Until later,
Kelly
For the longest time, the simple art of scrambling eggs eluded me. I’ve since improved my skills, but I cannot understand why my eggs still look a bit sad and grey next to my sister’s scrambled eggs.
When I was younger, I would draw blueprints of houses, suitcases that turned into wardrobes, and clothing. For some reason, I could never get the fashion to look, well…fashionable. My friend and I even laminated an entire binder of our designs, and mine are embarrassingly plain and oddly proportioned. If I can picture it in my head, should be easy to draw, right? Nope. Drawing takes work and practice (I suppose most things do).
I’m not exaggerating when I say that my six year old daughter is a far better artist than I. My imagination’s not broken or anything, I just can’t make my fingers do what hers can; you know, the basics. It kills me.
I’ll give you some cookies if you help Daddy illustrate a story….
Writer Dads last blog post..I Heart DVD’s
First–your Dad’s painting–wow! Artistic talent sure does run in your family.
Don’t laugh, but I struggle with driving boat trailers backwards. My dad holds his breath every time I back up a trailer. I think my brain just can’t make any sense of which way to turn the dang wheel when I’m backing up. I’ve been doing this for many years, but it still takes me several tries to get the trailer to go where I want it to go. In fact, I once backed the AVT out of the shed, caught the snowplow on the edge of the door and took the whole side of the shed off the foundation.
But, I can drive a boat forward like a pro.
Wow, what painting! Gorgeous!
I’m with Karen! I so admire anyone who can back up a trailer. My first U-Haul: jack-knifed in 4 minutes. Boat trailers? Half on the dock and half in the water. Garden/firewood teeny weeny trailer? Don’t even try it. My husband can back up a trailer, UPHILL on a circular driveway with huge trees in the center. We are thinking of getting one of those little egg trailers for camping, seeing as we’re old and would like some more comfort. He’ll be the one to drive with it.
Betsys last blog post..CLAIRE – NO SMALL ADVENTURE
I like your dad.
But you knew that already. I love that picture from your archives, but if I sat like that for five minutes I’d need a muscle relaxant and several pain pills for my back.
I’ve always wanted to draw images exactly as I see them in my head, but (like Writer Dad) they never translate that way. If they did I’d be crazy rich and famous. Alas! Now give me a straight edge and a couple of triangles, and I can draft and draw buildings like no one else because my 3D perception is top notch. Just please don’t take away my ruler, and never ask me to draw those stupid little trees to pretty up my architecture, OK?
Also, along with Kelly, I’m still as painfully shy as I was as a child. No one ever believes that, but that kid’s there (inside) screaming with pain every time I have to pick up the phone and call a new customer or meet someone new. I can shush her and beat her back, but she’s still there whining. Damn kid.
Nicole Brunets last blog post..Mum & Dad go boating
Betsy, I’m convinced that trailer driving is a talent that people are born with. That’s my excuse.
Thank goodness for other people whose talents we can mooch off of.
My gosh Harry, your dad’s landscape is so beautiful. I always wished I could paint like that. I can do decent graphite drawings, but add any color or paint and it becomes a huge mess.
There are a lot of things that frustrate me because I expect myself to be better at them, but luckily I have the “something else” that I’m decent at to balance out my frustration.
My pies look like turkeys and my meringues always fall, but my cheesecakes rock and I’m pretty good at rolling sushi, if I do say so myself.
I freak out when meeting new people and I sound like an idiot on the phone because I get so nervous, but I can put on an amazing performance on stage… as long as i don’t have to speak.
I don’t agree that you should always move on to something else though… pies might be my arch enemy and I hate talking to people that I’m not super comfortable around, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying to make a fantastic pie, or give up on meeting new people. Of course I agree that people should be realistic and realize when something just isn’t going to happen (ABT…
here I come!not in this lifetime), but for other things, sure they might not be easy at first, but how do you think the people you are trying to emulate got so good at it? (Not that I’m arguing with you… I’m pretty sure you agree. I’m just saying…)For me, coding is one of those things that seems like it should be so much easier for me, but even though it isn’t, I’m not going to give up on it. I get so frustrated with myself sometimes because I expect myself to be just as good as, if not better than Son, but I’m not. Yet. Doesn’t help that he expects the same from me. Of course, he’s been programming for ten years, and got a Master’s degree in computer science… I’ve only been programming for one year. Of course it’s silly that I get so frustrated when my work isn’t of quite the same quality as his… but at the same time I think the high expectations help push me to get better and better at it.
@Nicole – You’re painfully shy? Really? I would have never guessed… you hide it well.
Allison Days last blog post..Hotate Special, and More Randomness
Whistling. People say just put your lips together and blow. What the hell does that mean? Your lips are already together. Where else would they be? (Don’t answer that!)
@Allison I hide it well online. Please never stop by my house or call me on the phone, ok? I’d prefer to keep you safe and sound in your delusions of me as being outgoing and chatty. ;D
@Hunter I’ve always been proud that I taught my best friend to whistle (badly, but it’s whistling, damnit!), and she was a hopeless case.
Another thing I do well and very badly at the same time is express what I’m thinking/feeling. In person I completely clam up and can’t find a single word. My mind freaks out, and I panic. But if you give me a keyboard or a pen, the words just never stop, and I can usually muddle them into some semblance of what I’d like to say.
Nicole Brunets last blog post..Mum & Dad go boating
@Nicole – Are you my long lost twin?
Yep, you must be. There’s just no other explanation.
Allison Days last blog post..Hotate Special, and More Randomness
@ Zoe Try adding just a touch of milk to the eggs before you whip them. It’s a trick my dad taught me.
He also taught me that cooking fish with the heads still on stinks up the house and NEVER put leftover rice and honey in a meatloaf, but the scrambled egg thing works. Makes them light and fluffy.
@ Harry Your dad’s work is stunning! Maybe you translate his artistic talent through your web design, eh?
Jamies last blog post..Setting Priorities: Work Vs Blogging
@Mark: Maybe you should join up at Escaping Reality to get those fiction writing chops going? James and I have found the more you sit on writing the novel, the harder it becomes. If you push and just do maybe an hour or so a day, or set aside one day during the week, it gets easier. So what if you have a day where you write crap? You can always edit that out in the rewrite.
@Sam: Ugh. Running. Never liked it myself – and I was on the varsity track team in high school! Although, that was easily solved with field events (shot and disc). I’ve tried to get into running a few times and just don’t like it at all. Walking is fine for me.
@Kelly: Thanks! That painting was done from a photo Dad took in Monument Valley, Utah (several hours away from Las Vegas).
@Panther: Nothing wrong with doing something for yourself even if you’re no expert at it. I love singing too. Back in NY I did a couple of guest appearances doing backup for some buddies of mine who had a band, did some karaoke, but I never had any plans to do it professionally. It’s just fun.
@Zoe: Add some cheese. Cheese makes everything better.
@WriterDad: I’m that way with the human form. Wildlife, no problem. Humans? Ugh. I keep telling myself it shouldn’t be any different, but it is.
@Karen & Betsy: Never had the opportunity to drive anything with a trailer. Does a horse and carriage count? I can drive one of those backwards and forwards like nobody’s business (on a city street during rush hour to boot).
@Allison: I told you it would be worth the wait!
@Hunter: Ah, whistling. I had an anatomy professor who whistled *all* the time. He was very good at it, but damn if it wasn’t annoying!
@Nicole: Mom took that picture and it was funny because we both tried to sneak the camera in so Dad wouldn’t notice we were taking it.
@Jamie: Oh, my translation of his talent was around long before the web came along. And thank you, I’ll pass along your compliments to him.
Harry- you know I am smiling at this. Great post. But you do not ask the easy questions. Tell your dad, simply gorgeous. Love the photo.
Okay. I wish I could paint abstractly as fabulously as Cy Twombly does, or Joan Miro. You would think it would be easy. It is not. Not if it is about anything. I will spend my childlike brain eternally in the quest of that. It is very very hard to be simple and substanitive as well. But I can play wih the tools I have and that makes the journey fun.
I am thinking of taking up marshall arts to help me with that. It is probably not easy to move like water either. Hmph.
As many times as I have tried not to do what I do, do something more practical or related maybe…that is harder. So my job has been to just be what I am and look at where it is I meet the world. That too should be easy, but it’s not.
Janice C Cartiers last blog post..Government By Utube
Harry, I recognized that place your father was painting. That’s absolutely amazing.
I admire people who can do quick mathematical computations in their heads. I always have trouble with it. I actually have a math degree, but I always tell everyone . . . we used calculators!! LOL
People make it look easy but it’s much harder for me. So is reading and understanding fast.
I absolutely love your Dad’s painting. It is magnificent. It has an inspiring spirit that resonates with me. Tell him to make a website with his pieces.
I’ve started to read more. Books in particular – I have a daily regiment. Reason is, I want to significantly improve my writing and have come to believe reading more than anything else contributes to this.
Bamboo Forests last blog post..The Stain Demon Can and Will Taint Your Life
I’ve been thinking about this all day. Something I’d love to do that Harry and Charlie make look easy is graphic design.
But… even still. All I need to do is sit down and learn, do it myself. I could do what they do. And if it still looked flawed to me? Then I’d work harder. Nothing kicks my ass. I kick ass no matter how long it takes me to do so.
And yet… I know what you mean. Riding, for one. I make it look easy. But I sweated like a bastard (and still do) for 20 years to get to the point I am. (Or was. I need to get back in the saddle and I’d probably sweat a great deal the first few months.)
But… I used to tell students, “Come on, try.” Try a little. Try more the next day. Find the small victories in the big failures. Fuck, I broke my wrist in a stupid goof-up jumping, but damn, did I ever break it good! (See?)
I suck at math. I *hate* math. And yet, I can do math with the best of them when I have a deep interest (like, um, financials for the business).
I can’t draw, either. But I *could*. If I tried. If I *really, really* wanted to, I could. It would take time and it wouldn’t be Michelangelo maybe, but… I could. And when I reached that point, even if it wasn’t perfect, it would still be something that someone would say, “You make it look so easy; I wish I could do that.”
I don’t think anything is out of anyone’s reach. All that’s lacking is perhaps the pure interest, the strong determination or the dedicated will.
So all this musing to say that I think perhaps what we can and can’t do is a myth. We fool ourselves into believing we just don’t have it. I think perhaps we just didn’t try long enough or hard enough, because I can’t think of one example of anything that a person couldn’t do given enough practice or time.
Dunno. I could be wrong. But I’ve been thinking about it.
@James Leave it to you to call us on a simple lack of effort.
I do agree to a certain extent. Drawing for instance. I speak of my inability to draw anything beyond straight lines, but I can draw if I want to badly enough. I just want to be able to do it naturally without so much as a minute of practice. I want what’s in my head to come out exactly that way on the paper, and I don’t want to put in weeks (or months and even years) of effort. While I DO want to draw well, my lack of enjoyment of drawing outweighs my want to get better… and I think that’s the difference.
If I don’t enjoy something, I do my damnedest to fnd a way not to do it. (Luckily I actually like working hard and cleaning.) If I enjoyed drawing, but just wasn’t very good at it, I would have no problem practicing until my fingers bled to improve enough to “make it look easy”. In fact I’ve done that with Photoshop. I’m no pro, but I’ve played and practiced for hours upon hours over the past fifteen years, and now I’m pretty good. No Bert Monroy, but I get compliments. Good or bad, I simply love Photoshop.
So for me at least, enjoyment is the driving force to get to the point to where it looks easy. No enjoyment (or other benefit, I suppose), no practice. No practice, no perfect.
Nicole Brunets last blog post..Mum & Dad go boating
@ Nicole – So what you’re saying is that if the hard work doesn’t mean enough to you because it outweighs the pleasure, then it isn’t really something you wanted in the first place, that right?
I agree.
On a side note, nobody really has the ability to just… be that good, unless it’s the child prodigy type. Even Glen Gould didn’t start off that good.
@James Yes. I do believe pleasure is only one driving force, though likely the most popular. Old fashioned necessity is another good one.
Nicole Brunets last blog post..Mum & Dad go boating
Working in a web team, I look at some of my designers and developers and wish that I understood code – any code would do! And CSS – especially now I have my own site to maintain. Sometimes I think half the challenge is just knowing where to start.
Sally, Snappy Sentencess last blog post..The best words are the ones written quickly
@Jamie Thanks for the motley mix of culinary tips! Rice, honey, and meatloaf is a most unlikely combination…
@Harry Cheese is an omelette’s saving grace.
Damn you James. Sometimes I think you’re my twin or something.
I wrote almost that exact comment yesterday morning, after staring at the screen and pondering why I’ve never felt like there’s something I can’t do. I’m smart and I’m stubborn and I persevere. That’s my middle name.
All I could come up with was stuff I thought I couldn’t do and then kicked its butt, whatever it was. I felt arrogant saying that. Then I hit delete, thought harder, and realized that I’ve kicked the effects of shy but not the feeling, so I commented about that.
All day, I thought about Harry’s question. How I tell my kid there is nothing, nothing she can’t master, with desire. How she proves that to herself again and again, because she grew up watching me prove it to myself. I go to bed early, and wake up to my thoughts, from your mouth.
I was gonna put this in an email instead of out here in public, but… *sigh*
@ Kelly –
Apparently I don’t have that arrogance problem… hehehe.
But answer me this – why do people see that as being arrogant in general? What is it that people have this feeling of having to have at least a few failures they couldn’t overcome or they’re seen as cocky bastards?
Where the hell did we get conditioned to avoid saying we can do it?
I’ll go back to the title here: It isn’t easy. I think saying, “I could paint like that, easy,” if you’ve never picked up a brush before, that’s arrogrant. Saying “I will paint well, in time, because I’m going to devote myself to it,” I love a person who can say that. Not everyone wants to devote themselves to the thing they “can’t” do.
Feeling arrogant saying it, especially among these many wonderful folks with skills they feel they can not grasp—well, maybe that’s the difference between a New Englander and a Quebecer. Though believe me, among my well-conditioned consciously humble New England brethren, I stick out as cocky, no matter how I try. (Too off-topic for today!)
Why does CommentLuv hate me lately?
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Oh, that figures.
@ Kelly – The title of the post is semi-irrelevant. “It isn’t easy.” True. The mood of the post is that of a person who says, “I wish I could do that.”
My point is you can do that.
I also think the message is that what looks easy to you (general you) usually looks that way because the person put in a great deal of effort to get to that point.
I know where Harry’s coming from with this post, though. (“Can you make me a pretty website? It’s easy, right? Like, 15 minutes and you’re done?” Oh for god’s sake. No.)
I just can’t help noticing that wistful, “I wish I could but I can’t” tone in the post, and that bothers me.
Ditto to everything you said. “I wish I could” always makes me respond, “Then do.”
(But, Harry’s cute when he’s wistful.)
Tropical storm almost on top of me, checking in on the Internet while I still can…
The list of things I’d like to do and yet lack the talent to master is wayyyy long. But my approach is to try new things, even if my attempts are laughable.
In recent years I’ve attempted to learn to surf, snow ski, rappell cliffs, body build (well, at least start lifting some weights), do Latin dances, cook (that was a total disaster!) and make elaborate artistic scrapbooks documenting my kids’ lives.
I’ve seen others do all of these things far better than me. But I figure I’m having an interesting life, and I’m learning as I go. That’s gotta count for something, right?
@James & Kelly: I didn’t mean for it to sound wistful. I admire what others can do. If I want to do something, then yes, I’ll go out and do it, but at the same time, I don’t have to be the absolute best at everything I do.
Sometimes it’s just enough to have the experience and bragging rights that go along with having done an activity or learning a new skill. Other times, I find out that I really like what I’m learning and want to be the best at it.
Constantly learning new things and expanding your knowledge base helps me as a writer and makes me interesting.
@Susan: Exactly! Will I ever shoot a bow in the Olympics? Will any of my wildlife drawings land a place in the Smithsonian? Probably not. But I enjoy doing those things. That’s why they’re called hobbies
Your dad’s painting is very impressive. I know with sports that it is sometimes hard to appreciate some things when you don’t know it well. A prime example is diving or gymnastics. I sit there and every dive or routine just looks amazing.
I think “wow, that’s hard” but the experienced diver/gymnast sees the subtle little things and thinks “that was flippin’ unbelievable”
One of life’s lesson for me is if something is easy and you get praised for it – don’t say it was nothing it was easy – take the praise.
Because the thing that takes ages and is your most technically challenging feat people will just say oh is that it!
Take the praise when it comes…
My parents are artistic – my dad draws and paints and has perfect pitch. My mother designs and creates textile art with ease (although she’ll insist she’s merely technical and not creative but we all disagree with her).
I did it all before settling on writing- acting, singing, art – and I want to be able to do it all, but I’m good with writing. Although it’s not the immediate gratification that acting, singing or art appears to be (from the outside) it makes me supremely happy that I’m creating new worlds and telling stories.
Alex Fayles last blog post..Trapped in the Day-to-Day: Urban Panther Interview Part 1
I’m not a big fan of paintings depicting the usual mountainous terrain… BUT WOW! Dad’s painting gripped me! No, I am not trying to smooch up to the MwP crew.
Meryl K. Evanss last blog post..Links: 2008-09-05
@ Meryl – Mmhm. *nods*
I just assume that everything I ask someone else to do for me is easy.