What if it is hard for me to be meikel?!
seriously, you need to define what is “an effort”. For many people, it is psychologically easy to be “like everyone around them”. They also feel accomplished by focusing on chumros, so this all sounds like nedarim and caveats above apply.
And also – how balanced is the person in all aspects of his life. Let’s say someone is a moser nefesh to be a surgeon, saving lives daily after an early minyan, then learns with a chevrusa, then learns with his children, helps them study towards a profession, spends quality time with his wife and delivers food and nachas to his elderly parents. At this point, he wonders – based on reading YWN – whether he is “frum” enough and wonders whether he needs to spend an extra 30 minutes of drive to pick up chalav isroel yogurt and milk, so that he will either learn less, has one less surgery, or disregard either the wife or one of the kids. What would be your advice?