I’ve noticed a particular kind of frustration that shows up when you’re doing everything right, and it still feels hard.

You’re showing up, building, and not waiting for permission, motivation, or the perfect moment. And yet, there’s friction. There’s a… gap… between where you are and where you want to be. And you hear your inner voice asking, why isn’t this easier by now?

If that lands anywhere in your body this week, you’re in it.

Here’s what’s moving

This week, the energy carries a tension between ambition and reality. Think of it as between what you want to create and what’s actually possible right now. There’s a lot of energy available, and I mean creative, driven, ready-to-build energy, but it’s meeting resistance because that’s what building feels like when you’re in the middle of it.

The temptation, of course, is to push harder and assume that if it’s not flowing, you must be doing something wrong. You look around at other people who seem to be gliding and wonder what they know that you don’t.

But as I’ve said before, most of the people who look like they’re gliding are just further from the starting line. They’ve already been through the friction. They’re not exempt from it, as much as on the other side of it.

So with that in mind, the energy right now is asking you to stay with what you’re building even when it doesn’t feel like it’s working yet. Trust the structure you’ve committed to, even when the results aren’t visible. (And what I used to say when hiking the Grouse Grind) keep climbing even when the view hasn’t changed.

This isn’t the week for leaping. It’s the week for continuing.

Here’s the belief that won’t survive this week

“If it’s meant to be, it should feel easier.”

I hear this one a lot because it’s based on the assumption that alignment comes with ease. 

If you’re on the right path, the doors should open, the energy should flow, and you should feel a deep inner yes the whole way through.

But that’s not what “meant to be” actually means.

“Meant to be” doesn’t mean effortless. It means worth the effort. 

“Meant to be” is about the thing that keeps calling you back, even when it’s hard. Like the relationship you stay in and repair. Or the work you keep doing even when no one’s clapping. It’s the version of yourself you keep building, even when you can’t see the progress.

Ease isn’t a sign that you’re on the right path. Sometimes it’s a sign that you’re coasting, or have even stopped growing. Or a sign you’ve settled into something comfortable rather than something true.

And friction isn’t a sign you’re in the wrong place. Sometimes it’s a sign you’re exactly where the growth is.

So, the things that are “meant to be” usually need you to stay longer than feels reasonable. They need you to keep going when you’d probably rather quit, because the process feels like it’s taking forever.

If you’re waiting for it to feel easy before you believe it’s right, you might be waiting for the wrong signal.

Here’s the part that’s hard to see on your own

When you’re in the middle of the friction, it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between “this is hard because I’m growing” and “this is hard because it’s wrong.” 

That’s because they feel the same from the inside. The doubt, fatigue, even the question of whether you should keep going or walk away.

This is where having someone outside of it matters. Someone who can see the shape of what you’re building when you’re too close to see it. Someone who remembers where you started, and can remind you how far you’ve actually come. And someone who can hold the difference between hard-because-it’s-wrong and hard-because-it’s-real.

You don’t have to figure that out alone. And when you’re that close to something, you usually can’t. Perspective needs distance, which is hard to come by when you’re the one inside it.

Jonni

P.S. I’ve been singing this under my breath lately as I make my morning rounds:

🎵 Three runner ducks, Two hungry ravens, And a cat named Jack who thinks this place is his.

It’s to the tune of the Twelve Days of Christmas, in case you were wondering. Managing a small kingdom of creatures who all have competing needs and zero interest in coordinating with each other is its own kind of practice in staying with what’s real. Every day. Whether I feel like it or not.