There are a lot of things in life that are hard. Things you just don’t want to do.
But very few things are actually difficult. Things that require unique ability. Things that have never been done before.
Losing weight is hard. You simply have to eat less and move more consistently but that is hard.
Hard things are tedious. Hard things require handling boredom or conflict or awkwardness.
Breaking up with someone is hard.
Programming is fairly hard. You have to sit through hours and hours of learning. It requires a novel way of thinking that is perhaps a little difficult.
Being creative is difficult. Not everyone can do difficult things well.
Things that have never been done before are difficult. Difficulty assumes unclear steps.
Whenever I am trying to learn something new or get better at something I often think of it as very difficult until I break it down into hard tasks.