Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6, Verse 36

Yoga is hard to be attained by one of uncontrolled self, such is My conviction; but the self-controlled, striving by right means, can obtain it.

It's genuinely hard without real effort, and genuinely possible with it. Both things are true at once.

Krishna doesn't soften the difficulty here, an unbridled mind really does make this hard. But he pairs that honesty with a real, direct promise, earnest effort through the right means does actually work.