There’s a powerful moment in the film Bleed for This, where Miles Teller, playing real-life boxer Vinny Pazienza, is asked:
“What’s the biggest lie you were ever told?”
He responds:
“It’s not that simple.”
Then he adds, “That’s the biggest lie I was ever told. It’s how they get you to give up.”
That quote hits deep, doesn’t it?
We’re constantly told things aren’t simple. That success is hard. That change takes years. That doing something different is unrealistic. Whether it’s from well-meaning friends, society, or the voice in our own head, the message is often the same: “It’s not that simple.”
I see it all the time in my work.
When I train coaches or stylists on how to get clients, there’s usually a moment of doubt — “But it’s not that simple to just find clients.” And with clients on my Cleopatra Effect course, I see the same resistance. I’ll suggest a new behaviour or shift in mindset, and without hesitation, I’ll hear: “It’s not that simple.” As if the only reason everyone isn’t quitting the corporate grind or leaving a loveless marriage is because it must be complicated.
But what if we flipped that narrative? What if we were raised believing everything was simple? That the hard part wasn’t the action — but just the story we’ve told ourselves about it?
Here’s where the brain comes in. The subconscious mind seeks alignment with what it believes to be true. If you keep telling yourself something is difficult, your brain will go to work proving that belief. But if you shift the narrative — just slightly — and say, “This is simple”, your mind will start looking for evidence that supports that instead.
We don’t always need a heroic act of courage to change our lives. Often, what we really need is a reframe — a new perception.
So why not try it? Start small. Pick something you’ve been avoiding. A recipe you’ve never tried. Waking up an hour earlier. Reaching out to someone new. And instead of dreading it, tell yourself, “This is simple.”
Because maybe, just maybe, it always was.
And that lie? “It’s not that simple”?
Let that be the last time you believe it.
Nisha x