Are You Making Your Success Harder Than It Needs to Be?

I was coaching with a client last week when she recognised that she was making everything harder than needed.

She realised she'd been unconsciously creating more work for herself because, in her mind, success was supposed to be hard. After all, every achievement in her life had come through hard work, so the idea of success without struggle felt almost... suspicious.

Does this sound familiar? It does to me. I’ve been there too.

I worked full-time in a legal firm and studied law part-time because I thought that was the formula for success: work hard, achieve more.

Many high-achieving women have internalised this belief that success must be difficult to be worthwhile. We've built our careers and businesses on grit and determination, pushing through obstacles and taking pride in our resilience.

But what if we're making things harder than they need to be?

The Hard Work Paradox

There's nothing wrong with working hard. I love the satisfaction of putting in effort and seeing results. But there's a crucial difference between:

Working hard because you enjoy it and making your work harder because you believe that's the only path to success.

The first energises you. The second leads to burnout.

I see this pattern frequently with my clients – brilliant female entrepreneurs who unconsciously create more complex processes or set unrealistic expectations, not because their business demands it but because success without suffering doesn't align with their internal narrative.

They have habituated working hard so doing something different feels wrong.

Here are some signs that you may be making success harder than necessary

• You resist doing things because "it can't be that simple"
• You feel guilty when work feels easy or enjoyable
• You add extra steps to projects "just to be thorough"
• You distrust results that came without struggle
• You wear busyness and exhaustion as badges of honour

Breaking the Pattern

One of my clients spent hours each week manually compiling data reports for her business. When I suggested automating the process, her first response was resistance—surely the automated version wouldn't be as comprehensive or valuable.

After some coaching, she identified that her resistance wasn't about the quality of the reports; it was about her unconscious belief that her work was only valuable if it required significant effort.

Once she recognised this pattern, she could make a different choice. She implemented the automation and reclaimed hours each week – time she now uses for true high-impact activities (and occasionally, actual rest).

The Permission to Simplify

What if success could feel easier?

What if you could achieve your goals without the grind?

This isn't about lowering your standards or ambitions. It's about directing your energy with intention rather than spreading it across unnecessary complexity.

Success doesn't have to be an uphill battle all the way. Sometimes, the most profound business growth happens when we permit ourselves to find the easier path.

What are you making harder than it needs to be? What would happen if you simplified it?