When “trying harder” isn’t the answer

Hey -

I’ve been thinking about something lately—how easy it is to believe that if we just try harder, we’ll finally change.

But what if the problem isn’t effort? What if it’s depth?

I used to think the right list, the right plan, or the right challenge would fix everything. But lasting change doesn’t come from striving. It comes from surrendering.

That’s the quiet work God does in coaching. It’s not a checklist; it’s a conversation. Not a sprint; a slow, steady walk toward peace.

When I finally learned that, everything shifted. Because it’s one thing to want contentment, but it’s another to learn it.

And learning takes time, grace, and guidance.

If that’s where you are, tired of surface-level change and ready for something deeper, I think you’ll connect with my latest journal entry, “What Coaching Can Do That Challenges Can’t.”

It’s a reflection on how God shapes us in the slow work of transformation… and how that work lasts.

Read the full journal entry

Chat soon,

Makeda Mutema-Newton

Contentment Coach

@contentment.made.simple