Taking The Path of Least Resistance

Taking the Path of Least Resistance is the art of finding in each moment what interests us the most, what we are most inclined to do. This practice takes place within our arts, training and the work we do each day, just as it extends also to the conscious choice of doing things that excite and impassion us in our lives.

Too often we tend to act – or attempt to force ourselves into action – based upon what we think we should be doing in the moment, even if we do not feel engaged to do so. I would posit that productive, high-quality work will rarely come out of such a practice. We attempt to bash our way through obstacles with sheer force of will, with no regard for our feelings, leaving the more spontaneous passion, curiosity, and inspiration broken in the wake.

Learning to take the path of least resistance is a practice that cultivates greater emotional awareness, along with greater creative sensitivity. We desire to be efficient and productive, so we attempt to proceed by conquering our feelings of disengagement and boredom. When in reality far more productivity and progress is gained by listening to them.

The Path of Least Emotional Resistance

One craft that I spend a considerable portion of each day on is scholarship and writing. Spending so much time on research – much of it done somewhat methodically through each subject – I have found that interest and curiosity tend to quickly evaporate if they are not addressed. I have found this to be true in every one of my arts which leads me to believe this is a fundamental truth.

As a scholar we must take care to, on a regular basis, learn for its own sake. Study something for no other reason than the thing captured our attention, even if it is outside what we are intently focused upon at the time. When we fall into a subject based on curiosity alone there is no internal resistance. There is no boredom or exhaustion towards the subject, just excitement and eagerness, because it is fresh, novel and new. This is the path of least resistance.

It is here also that we learn most deeply while making the fastest progress. We do not even have to take time away from our disciplines entirely (or at least do so less often) because we can refresh ourselves within the practice of our art simply by shifting our focus within it guided by curiosity and passion.

This practice rejuvenates us because, I believe, that curiosity and passion guide us to the information that we need, fulfilling us in a unique way because our intuition and passion guides us towards what excites us, which is ideally why we do what we do. Because the thing resonates with who we are on a deep level.

Study hard what interests you the most in the most undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible.

Richard P. Feynman

The Path of Least Emotional Resistance

The path of least resistance is not one of undisciplined meandering and laziness, rather the one of least emotional resistance. I apply this principle on a daily basis within my practice of martial arts, yoga, scholarship, writing, and music. I have my Daily Discipline and regimented practice within each discipline, yet have learned to leave room for exploration and creativity, and will adapt if I feel the need to.

On any given day I am fully prepared to let rest what I have been working on for days or weeks in favor of something new. Creativity cannot be forced, nor can understanding. Sometimes a novel new piece is just what we need to reinvigorate us and change our perspective to lend us clarity in the formal side of our work.

I have learned this ability the hard way. I well know that the reward for ignoring our emotions and proceeding with sheer force of will is usually going to be hours of frustration. Or else I will paralysis by procrastination as a byproduct of the attempt to force ourselves to do something we simply don’t want to do today.

If we follow our inclinations down the path of least resistance, then we can transition from what would probably be a day of frustration and little progress, to one of creativity and excitement. This practice cultivates a superior habitual response to our emotions of disengagement since it is a practice of focusing on the emotions that lead to engagement the moment we feel ourselves disengaging. If we want to be engaged and inspired perpetually, then we have to learn to flow with the emotion of inspiration since it feels more as a guiding force, rather than something we can control.

In this way we also have to trust that passion and curiosity are valuable. That if we are to follow them, they will lead us in the direction that we desire to go, in the end.

Finding Yourself in the Path of Least Resistance

I believe that this practice is how we find ourselves in what we do. Our society largely teaches us to suppress emotions, individuality, and interest. Creative, divergent thinking and behavior is often dismissed as nothing more than aberrant.

Every child learns this in our modern educational system as a byproduct of keeping up with the rest of the class plodding through the curriculum. We learn to suppress the individual, to the detriment of all involved.

This is precisely the part of ourselves that we must reclaim, at all costs. It is from this individuality that our true nature is realized and, when we identify with it, we find joy, passion, excitement, enthusiasm, unlimited creativity, and indeed, love. All of these emotions are what make our lives worth living and our work worth doing.

Recognize that your emotions guide you to your own unique voice. They rekindle the spark within us by reminding us why we have chosen the path in life that we have chosen. Why you chose to pursue music, physics, poetry, art, acting, welding, construction, or whatever field you are in. Recognize also that the path of least resistance is simply saying yes to who you really are and what you really want. Doing so consistently will lead you directly to what you really want out of life.

Internal resistance falls away when we are true to ourselves. You do not need to negotiate with someone to do what they are passionate about, unlike the endless negotiations we engage in with children to do their schoolwork. The more time you spend on passion and curiosity, focusing on these emotions within your arts and life, the more of these you will find returning to you through your work and choices because you made the conscious choice not to suppress them in the first place.

The path of least resistance is not easy, just easy by comparison to the alternative. It is the direction inwards towards ourselves, towards who we really are, which is a path with more than enough challenge and obstacles for each of us. Following your natural inclinations is equivalent to being true to who you really are, which is a path that I doubt any person ever would regret taking.