This Turkish Phrase Might Make You Rethink Your Relationship to Work
May it be easy.
There’s a saying in Türkiye that I love:
Kolay gelsin.
(Phonetically, something like “col-i ghel-sin.”)
It’s something you say to anyone you run into who’s doing a job — working construction, serving coffee, cleaning the house, filling out a spreadsheet, whatever.
Google Translate tells me it means “good luck,” but my rudimentary knowledge of the language suggests the literal translation would be “easy come to you” or “may ease arrive for you.”
It’s such a casual and universal statement, but it reveals a profound difference from my own, North American-socialized, attitude to work and effort.
What is work?
Work for me is something you do that requires effort. It’s hard by definition. If it wasn’t, it would be play, and thus probably confined to the two weeks a year you get to be on vacation.
But why?
Why shouldn’t work be as easy as it can be? And in fact, why shouldn’t all of life be easy?
When you look at things through that lens, the goal shifts: it’s not “master your desire for ease so you can suppress it in order to achieve greatness.” It’s, “do good work as easily as possible.”
Turkish lessons.
I’ve been in Türkiye for a month now (working the first two weeks, now on a vacation that ends in a couple of days).
Easy has come to me in some ways: I’ve been fed and cared for essentially like a baby since I arrived.
But I’ve also made things hard. I’ve been experiencing emotional storms and feeling guilt about not making the most of this time.
I want to write! I want to make music! I want to sort out all the thoughts and feelings I don’t have time to sit with during my daily life!
But that is insane.
This is explicitly the time of kolay gelsin. This is the time to enjoy being at peace and not needing to achieve anything.
“Work” at this moment involves making it to the bar to order another coffee before going back to sit by the pool.
When I get back, and return to my actual job, I’m going to bring some of that spirit with me.
I can accomplish great things and work well without making it harder than it needs to be.
Same thing with my life in general. Whatever happens, I will wish myself ease to deal with it.