The Path of Least Resistance is the Law
Everything in nature has a flow, a simple and clear way of happening. When a river flows it is driven by gravity to fall. If the land rises the river will flow in a different direction. This can create a curve, a lake or an underground river but the river will never simply stop. Even when meeting the sea the river currents will transform and continue. Energy can never be destroyed, it can transform but never stop. The laws of nature are immutable.
When faced with an obstacle, people also make a choice. Humans have the interesting ability to appear to bend the laws of nature in the short-term so their decisions can be more complex than simply following gravity. However, you will note that I made the distinction that humans can only "appear to bend the laws of nature" and in the "short-term". Ultimately nature always wins.
Actions that disobey the core rule of Least Resistance can only appear to work in the short term. After that gravity will take over again. Remember that under Newton's 3rd law of Motion: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So that the further you go against the flow the stronger the backlash will be. To stop the backlash will require ever increasing force. Solving problems with force is asking for trouble. Trouble like a collapsing sea wall when New Orleans is hit by a "perfect storm".
These are the common choices people make when faced with an obstacle:
Short Term Solutions |
Long Term Solutions |
|
| Do Nothing | Do What Is Easiest | |
| Go Back | ||
| Do What Seems Easiest |
The Options
Do Nothing - doing nothing or "sticking your head in the sand" is a common choice. It cannot work because it assumes that the world is static. Have you ever heard of a plant that decided not to grow any more? The idea is an absurdity because we know that it is impossible to not grow and change. A plant that decides not to grow either never existed or dies.
Go Back - gravity always falls, time moves on. The only way to move upstream is to apply a force greater than the weight of the object, gravity and friction. This is a job for a legion of engineers and ultimately doomed as sooner or later the weight will exceed any engine you can afford to own and run.
Do what Seems Easiest - applying a patch or band aid. This method is really a combination or wrapper for the first two options. Solving a situation by assuming the symptoms are the cause and soothing them can never remove the obstacle. Soothing a sore throat has never provided a prevention or cure for the common cold. Only finding the root cause can create a solution to the obstacle.
These first three options are covered by the not moving and changing equals death rule. Anything that doesn't move, change and flow cannot exist so it must cease to function or simply put, die. This death may take time and so seem avoided but it will happen.
Do What Is Easiest - you may notice how similar this option appears to the one before. The difference lies in the replacement of the word "seems" for "is". While seeming to do something you are really not doing the thing. While doing the the thing you are doing the thing. Simple logic. Doing what is easiest is seeing the obstacle for what it is, its size, weight and strength and plotting a new course. Before plotting the revised course the ultimate aim must be stated and the true nature or cause of the obstacle must be understood. Just as a sore throat possibly points to a cold, poor sales point to a specific problem. Identifying that problem helps you to see the real obstacle. The trick here is to keep working down through the layers of the problem to the real root cause which often lies in the people operating the system and specifically the person at the top - the owner/leader.
Real Change
 The Tower Card from Tarot wisely advises us that ivory towers will always get shattered |
Creating change at the root cause initially seems harder than one of the other options, which is why we try to avoid it. But as we have seen a solution that operates only on the symptoms cannot bring about long-term success. Actually quite the opposite. Short-term patches very quickly cost more than the initial problem. The pain may be more chronic than acute but it is there creating a drain every day. Ultimately the pain will become acute again, requiring greater energy to keep in check.
Seeing the big picture and making the changes at the real obstacle uses far less energy in the medium to long-term. Acute pain points to the problem, the change results in a removal of the pain as well as the opportunity for greater growth.
Interestingly this understanding is equally relevant to weight loss, drug abuse, a poor marriage or any of the other obstacles that appear in the way of our happiness. The most important question to ask in these situations is "What did I do to get myself here?"
If you want me to work with your business then please visit BRM Web Consulting
