241. 10 Things You Can Stop Doing the Hard Way

by Julie Lefebure | Mar 10, 2026 | Podcast

Have you ever stopped and realized you’re making life harder than it needs to be?

In this week’s episode of the Top 10 series, Julie continues the conversation by naming something many women quietly carry: unnecessary heaviness. After talking last week about what isn’t actually an emergency, this episode moves one step further—because once we realize everything isn’t urgent, we can begin asking why we’re still living like it is.

Julie shares how so many of us aren’t trying to make life heavy—we’ve simply grown used to carrying too much. We’ve adapted to survival mode. We’ve learned to overfunction, overexplain, overcommit, overthink, and overperform. And eventually, “hard” starts to feel normal.

In this practical and freeing episode, Julie walks through 10 things you can stop doing the hard way, including trying to do everything alone, carrying constant guilt, being everything to everyone, overpacking your schedule, earning your rest, overanalyzing decisions, and even speaking to yourself like an enemy.

These things you can stop doing the hard way.

She gently reminds us that some things are hard because life is real—but some things are heavy because we’re carrying them the wrong way.

With encouragement from Matthew 11:28–30, Julie points listeners back to Jesus’ invitation: “Come to me… and I will give you rest.” God’s way may not always remove difficulty, but it will not crush your soul.

This episode also includes four simple reflection questions to help you reset and choose a lighter, wiser way forward.

And if this message resonates deeply, Julie’s new 365-day devotional, Made for More, releasing this April, was written to help you live lighter, freer, and rooted in truth every single day of the year. Look for more details coming soon.

You don’t have to prove anything. You don’t have to carry it alone. And you don’t have to keep doing life the hard way.