Law of least effort: 5 keys to understanding it

How strong is your work ethic? The law of least effort make reference to the ability of human beings to allocate the minimum possible resources to obtain a benefit. It is also, one of the 7 spiritual laws of successful people that the Hindu writer and lecturer Deepak Chopra described.

Like any spiritual law, following the words of Chopra, the law of least effort is a law immutable. This means that, if applied properly, it tends to always be true.

What exactly is the least effort law?

When you are in a situation where you have multiple paths available but can only travel one, the path you will choose will be the one that involves the least energy expenditure (in terms of time, physical effort or investment, for example).

The law of least effort is not bad, because optimize our efforts towards the objectives that we have set. Therefore, it is not that it predisposes us to inaction, but rather that it leads us to act in a much more intelligent and efficient way.

A kind of ‘Ockham's razor’ applied to our day to day

You have surely noticed that, as you get more experience and maturity, you find easier ways to meet your daily needs and solve some problems that used to cost you a lot of time and energy higher.

The ockham razor is a philosophical principle that explains that, when two theories other things being equal have the same consequences, the simplest theory is the one most likely to be correct.

Well, the law of least effort is quite similar. In our daily lives, we prefer the easy to the complex, and we tend to try to do more with less.

To better understand the psychological mechanisms that lead us to prefer the law of least effort over another position, let's reflect on these five essential points.

1. Escape from trouble

It is normal that life is not a bed of roses and that we encounter obstacles, problems and difficulties of all kinds every day. But when you are unable to get around these obstacles, you are doing something wrong.

If your life is a constant race of obstacles and disappointments, it is likely that you are investing a lot of effort and obtaining Pyrrhic results. This will lead to a feeling of frustration, and will not allow you to connect with your Flow status.

When you are obsessed with something, it is normal for you to feel overwhelmed and stressed. These psychological signs warn you that you are pushing the situation too hard. One of the biggest factors in anxiety it is precisely this permanent state of exhaustion caused by not understanding the law of least effort.

Golden Rule: not by trying much more than others will you obtain more benefits than those who do not work as much as you. Why? You must take into account the concept of productivity. The more inspired and more efficient are your ideas on how to carry something out, the higher your productivity and the less effort you will need to achieve the same goals.

2. May inspiration find you working... or not

Be patient when you want to get results. If you start to act hastily to achieve the objectives as soon as possible, the most normal thing is that you cannot connect with the task and you become stressed. Any action that is motivated by a good dose of inspiration will be more effective, because it will allow you to flow and free yourself from some vices that mechanical thinking entails.

If you find yourself in a bad state of mind (exhausted, frustrated, or lacking in ideas), just don't act. Change the environment, disconnect and you will begin to regain positive energy. Once you are recharged, you will notice how it is easier for your thoughts to flow and your productivity to increase.

There are times when the environment in which we move exhausts us physically and intellectually, and this leaves us in a bad position when it comes to making decisions and solving problems. If we are talking about a romantic relationship or a work objective, you should rest and recover through distractions that have nothing to do with your main purpose. The key to regaining productivity is not going crazy working hard, but knowing how to dose and feel good about yourself.

Another important thing to achieve your goals is that you let your creative personality. Creativity is a great ally when it comes to making simple but more effective movements. I bet you have ever felt very overwhelmed with some important matter, and you have decided to disconnect by going for a walk around the city. Right now, Eureka!, a solution comes to mind. It is also very positive that you let your brain rest so that it can reorganize the information that you have been receiving during the day. Restful sleep can almost automatically give you a clear view of things.

With everything, to be creative you just have to follow these tips and reconnect with the good vibes.

3. Think different

If you are stubborn trying to get results with a method that fails over and over again, you have two options: stay the same and check a thousand times that your method does not work, or accept that you are wrong and change the approach with which you approach the situation.

Once you have accepted the mistake, you are able to rethink the situation and open windows that allow you to broaden your perspective.

The five steps to get your mind flowing are as follows:

A) Try to complain less and try not to blame others

B) Accept the situation as it is and try to understand it as well as possible

C) Get into a position that allows you to see the problem in the third person

D) Be open to other possibilities and options that you did not contemplate

E) Give inspiration and creativity a chance

4. When you enjoy what you do, you find better solutions

A concept that has appeared several times throughout this post is that of flow status.

"State of Flow: the state of mind of maximum motivation"

When you enjoy and are focused on the present moment and not on the possible future benefits, this is when you flow. In this state, your work will draw from a much more developed inspirationIn addition to that you will be almost immune to fatigue, because your brain will be absorbed in the fun and constructive aspect of the task at hand.

To reach this level of intrinsic motivationYou must find a way to turn your work into a kind of game. It should never be a tedious and boring obligation. This does not mean that you should be carefree and irresponsible, but that you have to be flexible to learn from mistakes and improve the way you carry out tasks. No one is born taught and we all have the right to make mistakes. The important thing is that you experiment, have a good time and be able to find options full of creativity in your day to day.

5. Practice meditation or Mindfulness

The meditation and the Mindfulness They are philosophies that allow you to have better control over your emotions, and therefore a more lucid mind prepared to face the day to day with positivity.

Here are two links so that you can delve into these two disciplines of which you can learn a lot: also to rationalize efforts and find a way to be more productive with less effort.

"Benefits of meditation backed by science"

"Mindfulness: 8 benefits of mindfulness"

Some conclusions

The final trick is to do things from the game and not from the obligation and that does not mean irresponsibility, it means flexibility to allow mistakes, failures, criticism and above all breaks. You are not here to make things perfect, you are here to learn by experimenting, enjoying and applying new creative options.

Learning to apply the law of least effort is a matter of will. You must get rid of some limiting beliefs and let go of the emotional drag and negative mental states. On this path, you will notice that acting only on the essential things can be enough to have a happy life.

By applying this law you can achieve your goals with less effort. Because sometimes, less is more.