Easy Come, Easy Go

It recently came to my attention that the vast majority of tasks aren't flatly "easy". I never doubted that some people were "math people" and some people were "language people" and (god knows why) some people are even history people, but somehow I never extended that concept far enough to realize that a lot the things that come easily or naturally to me, are actually very difficult to a lot of the people around me. This realization has blown my mind.

Over the last few days some of my baseball buddies and I have been discussing performance problems that, according to my previous understanding of the world, could only possibly be the result of a lack of effort on the part of the transgressors. I felt that some of my teammates were under performing in an aspect of the game that was so basic, so simple and so easy (i.e. easy to me), that if they would simply try a little, then the problem would go away. I was willing to argue this point to the bitter end, confident that something had to be done about our teammates' lack of effort and commitment. Then one of my teammates said something that broke my brain a little. He said "but, what if they are trying?" He had only broken my brain a little though, so of course I responded, "but they're not!" So then he broke my brain a little bit more. He said, get this: "but what if they are?" That time it clicked. My eyes widened and I sat there stunned, silenced and kind of embarrassed. The possibility that this particular aspect of the game might be difficult to someone had literally never even occurred to me. I don't know how... I don't know why... but it never passed through my mind as even a hypothetical explanation for the problems we were having. I was more than just a little embarrassed.

I would consider myself a very logical person. I generally think things through pretty rationally and given a little bit of time and someone to bounce ideas off of, I can usually come up with a pretty decent solution to most problems. My best friend is among the best students in the nation at debate. He is also a very logical person, consistently able to reason things out and explain ideas in a very rational way. One of my favorite things to do is to sit down with him and just talk, discussing or debating whatever it is that's caught our attention at that moment. The last time he was in town we did this for several (roughly 8) straight hours much to the chagrin of our mutual friends who would've preferred to go to sleep before 5 in the morning. On the opposite end of the spectrum is a group of people that has always baffled and frustrated me: people who aren't as good at figuring things out and have a hard time explaining things in detail. For as long as I can remember, I've gotten so frustrated when debating with these people because I always felt that they weren't understanding what I was saying (or expressing what they wanted to say) simply because they weren't trying. Just like with baseball, the process came so naturally to me that I had it locked in my mind as something that was "easy" to do and that there was no explanation for someone not being able to do it. Looking back now, it's actually quite humorous how upset I would get in these types of situations.

As of just today, my eyes have been opened. I'm seeing the world, the people in it, and the things that they do in a whole new light. I'm coming to grasp with the fact that, just because I'm good at something, doesn't mean it's easy and, even more shockingly, just because I'm bad at something doesn't mean it's hard, but rather that we all have different skills and talents and that the key to success is working with others to make the most of all of our strengths. What's funny is that now that I write it down, it really doesn't seem like much of a revelation, but it blew my mind just the same. Just because it may seem simple and basic to you... well... I think you get it. :)