THE BRIDGE ISSUE 18 - November 2, 2025
A few years ago, I was facilitating a session on a creative tech tool. I hadn’t designed the slide deck — I’d inherited it — and the first slide proudly read: “Creativity Made Easy.”
That phrase stopped me in my tracks.
There’s nothing easy about being creative. Creativity asks us to take risks, make decisions, and trust our judgment. It asks us to be brave enough to share an idea before we know if it’s good.
And when you’re learning a new tech tool on top of all that? “Easy” might be the last word that comes to mind.
As I looked out at the room of educators — some excited, some nervous, a few clearly skeptical — I realized how powerful that single word was.
Easy assumes everyone starts from the same place. It assumes shared experience, confidence, and comfort.
But that’s not reality. What’s easy for one person might feel impossible for another.
So right there, I made a small shift. I swapped easy for simple.
Simple is welcoming. It says, “We’re going to break this down together.”
It acknowledges the complexity of what we’re doing without pretending it should come naturally to everyone.
It invites people in, rather than accidentally “othering” them.
That small language change became a mindset shift for me — one that’s followed me into every session I lead.
As someone who often facilitates adult learning, I’m deeply aware that every participant arrives with different experiences, stories, and strengths.
My job isn’t to make things “easy.”
My job is to make them accessible — to create a space where people can shine their own light instead of being dimmed by unrealistic expectations.
Now, I catch myself all the time.
When my kids ask for help with homework.
When a colleague learns a new tool.
When a teacher says, “I’m just not good at tech.”
I remind myself that “easy” is subjective — and sometimes, saying something is easy can unintentionally shut people down.
Instead, I talk about steps, scaffolds, and possibilities. I focus on the invitation to learn rather than the expectation of ease.
Because learning — for any of us — is rarely easy.
But it can be meaningful, joyful, and deeply human when we create the right conditions.
So here’s my challenge to you this week:
- Listen for the word easy in your own language.
- Notice when you use it, and who might be listening.
- When you can, replace it with simple, clear, or doable.
It’s a small shift, but it changes everything.
It turns “you should already know this” into “we’re learning together.”
It transforms a room full of quiet uncertainty into one filled with shared curiosity.
And that’s what The Bridge is really about — the small moments of awareness that connect us, one word and one learner at a time.
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