The wish to appear effortless can require a great deal of concealed effort.

Effortlessness is a finish, not a fact. The easy performance, the natural piece of writing, the person who seems to manage everything, all generally rest on work that has been deliberately hidden because visible effort undercuts the impression. So the visible world is systematically misleading about what things cost.

Assume more effort behind what you admire than is shown. And when you can, say what something took you, especially to someone earlier in the same path. It is one of the more genuinely useful things to be honest about.