Minimum effort law: 5 keys to understanding it
How strong is your work ethic? The minimum effort law 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 Indian writer and lecturer Deepak Chopra described.
Like all 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 fulfilled.
What exactly does the law consist of the least effort?
When you are in a situation where you have several paths available but you can only walk one, the path you will choose will be the one that implies a lower energy expenditure (in terms of time, physical effort or investment, for example).
The law of minimum effort is not bad, because optimize our efforts towards the goals we have set for ourselves. Therefore, it is not that it predisposes us to inaction, but that it leads us to act in a much more intelligent and efficient way.
A kind of 'Ockham knife' applied to our day to day
Surely you have noticed that, as you have more experience and maturity, you find simpler ways to satisfy your daily needs and to solve some problems that used to cost you much more time and energy.
The Ockham's pocket knife is a philosophical principle that explains to us that, when two theories on equal terms have the same consequences, the simplest theory is the one that is most likely to be the correct one .
Well, the law of minimum 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 minimum effort over another position, let's reflect on these five essential points .
1. Escape the problems
It is normal that life is not a path of roses and that we find ourselves every day with obstacles, problems and difficulties of all kinds. But when you are unable to overcome these obstacles, something is 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 sense of frustration, and will not allow you to connect with your Flow State.
When you are obsessed with something, it is normal for you to feel overwhelmed and stressed. These psychological signals warn you that you are forcing the situation too much . One of the greatest factors of anxiety is precisely this permanent state of exhaustion caused by not understanding the law of minimum effort.
Golden Rule : not to strive much more than others will get 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 efficient your ideas on how to carry something out, the greater your productivity and the less effort you will need to achieve the same objectives .
2. That inspiration finds you working ... or not
Be patient when you want to get results. If you start acting hastily to meet the objectives as soon as possible, the most normal thing is that you do not manage to connect with the task and you stress. Any action that comes 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 notice yourself in a bad state of mind (exhausted, frustrated or lacking in ideas), simply do not act. Change the environment, disconnect and start to take up the 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 physically and intellectually drains us, and this leaves us in a bad position when making decisions and solving problems. If we talk about a relationship or a job goal, you should rest and recover through distractions that have nothing to do with your main purpose . The key to recovering productivity is not going crazy working on a piece rate, but knowing how to dose and feel good about yourself.
Another important thing to achieve your goals is to let your creative personality fly. 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 issue, and have decided to disconnect by going for a walk in 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. A restful sleep can offer you, almost automatically, a clear vision about things.
With everything, to be creative you just have to follow these tips and reconnect with the good vibrations .
3. Think differently
If you are blind trying to get results with a method that fails again and again, you have two options: follow 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 error, you are able to rethink the situation and open windows that allow you to expand your perspective.
The five steps for your mind to flow are the following:
A) Try to complain less and try not to blame others
B) Accept the situation as it is and try to understand it as best as possible
C) Situate yourself in a position that allows you to see the problem in the third person
D) Stay open to other possibilities and options that you did not contemplate
E) Give an opportunity to inspiration and creativity
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 mental state of maximum motivation"When you enjoy and are focused on the present moment and not on the possible future benefits, it is when flow . In this state, your work will drink from a much more developed inspiration , besides 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 motivation , you must find the way in which your work becomes 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 have to carry out tasks. Nobody 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 life.
5. Practice meditation or Mindfulness
The meditation and the Mindfulness they are philosophies that allow you to have a better control over your emotions, and therefore a more lucid mind and prepared to face the day to day with positivity.
Then I leave you two links so you can delve into these two disciplines from which you can learn a lot: also to rationalize efforts and find the way to be more productive with less effort.
"Benefits of meditation supported 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, criticisms and especially breaks . You are not here to do the perfect things, you are here to learn by experimenting, enjoying and applying new creative options.
Learning to apply the law of minimum effort is a matter of will. You must get rid of some limiting beliefs and release emotional ballast and negative mental states. In this way, you will notice that acting alone in 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 .
