Yes, I really do hate that phrase, and I have been guilty of saying it too. However, as I have gotten older I have tried to avoid saying this, as its really condescending.
What do I mean? Let me explain!
As you can tell from this blog I am slowly making my way into the Warhammer hobby. I got some stuff for 40k on order, and I am trying to learn how to paint minis. And something I have heard a few times from people I know when I express a bit of frustration or worry is that “Oh its easy!”
No. These techniques are not easy for me. Drybrushing is not easy for me. Priming is not easy for me. NONE OF THIS IS EASY FOR ME.
Because I am new. I haven’t painted a single mini in 10ish years. And even then I had no idea what I was doing.
When you say something is “easy” you are referring to your own skill. Of course something you have done time and time again over many years is easy. You have practice. You understand what you are doing. When someone is brand new and expressing worry about something, telling them its easy can actually be a blow to their confidence when they inevitably screw up. Basically, you are dismissing their concerns and worries as if they are invalid.
If its so easy, they will think, then why is it so hard for me to understand? If its so easy, they will think, why can’t I just do it? Why did I screw up? Everyone keeps telling me its easy! Maybe I am just dumb. Maybe I should stop.
Not everyone will think this way, of course. But many will. Myself included.
Whats really annoying is when I specifically point this out to people, they ignore it, and continue to claim things they know how to do and have done for ages are easy.
This applies to video games, to hobbies, to anything really. Sure, I can do my job like its nothing. For me, my day job is super easy. I have done it for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for nearly 3 years. If I try to explain my job to someone else, however, their eyes glaze over or they panic. Because while it is easy FOR ME, its not an easy job to learn.
The same goes for any skill. Coding, writing, painting, gaming. Sure, its easy once you have done it for a while. Its easy once you have practiced.
When you are first starting out its not.
And telling people it is does them a disservice.
Instead of saying its easy, say something like “You can do it! It will take practice but you can learn!” Thats encouraging. Thats helpful. Thats admitting that yea, its gonna take time, but its doable.
Consider this a rant, a vent if you will, because I am tired of people telling me something I already know ISNT EASY BECAUSE I TRIED BEFORE is easy.
Its easy for YOU. Its not for me. At least not yet. If I practice, then perhaps it will BECOME easy.
Nothing worth doing ever starts out BEING easy.
So next time you consider just telling someone that a thing they are JUST starting out doing is easy, maybe stop, realize that it may not be for them, and say something else.
Terminally Nerdy 