Stress is one of the worst evils of our time. There are many therapies that allow you to fight it and today we will talk about the law of minimum effort.
Written and verified by the psychologist GetPersonalGrowth.
Last update: 15 November 2021
The law of least effort can be very helpful in managing stress if applied correctly. It is a very simple resource that first appeared in Deepak Chopra's book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
According to this approach, each person should follow a vital path that allows them to save energy, acting in a relaxed way in their daily life and connecting with their innermost part.
Perhaps in many people the law of least effort evokes other images. Like that of those who do not make an effort and prefer idleness and apathy, avoiding responsibility and behaving selfishly. On the contrary, as you will see, the basic idea of ​​this law has nothing to do with those who just do the minimum.
The approach to which we refer, although starting from the field of spirituality, undoubtedly has a great interest in the field of psychology. The reason must be sought in the fact that the law of minimum effort allows you to develop new approaches, to give the right priority to circumstances, eliminating bad habits that prevent you from following a healthy path towards inner happiness and physical well-being.
"Learning to discover silence and being able to dedicate part of our time to it is the way to reach oneself and rediscover those delicate emotions, compassion, empathy, tenderness, love, which are the key to access happiness."
-Deepak Chopra-
Keys to the law of least effort
In Deepak Chopra's Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, we are interested in the fourth one, relating to minimal effort. To understand its importance and how it can help us, it is worth thinking about the following idea. Visualize the natural world: everything that happens in this vast world arises without apparent effort, using the inertia of things.
Everything is spontaneous, suffering is residual; the wind that sways the leaves, the flowers that sprout, the river that winds between the rocks and their channels. Nature is balance, it is a world that flows according to its own rhythm and its cycles.
On the other hand, people often have limiting routines and approaches. We ourselves, men and women, create our own prisons, subjecting ourselves to activities and worries that create suffering.
“If you feel confused, demoralized or sad now, don't worry. It's just the way life is preparing you for a big change. You're safe. Accept the flow of things. "
Accept the natural inertia of things
Letting go doesn't mean getting lost. The Law of Least Effort invites us to put the following ideas into practice:
- We often invest too much effort and energy into goals and people who don't make any contributions to them. On the contrary, instead of generating well-being, worries increase.
- By striving for a certain result, we only get physical and mental exhaustion. Some strive to be the best in the workplace, others always want to be good to everyone. We dedicate time, energy and dreams towards goals that are not always the right ones. And all of this generates high anxiety.
In light of this, the correct approach is to let go of what is useless and oppressive. We must keep in mind this flow theory, a term introduced by the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book Flow: The Psychology of Happiness.
This means never forcing anything in life, putting aside what generates suffering. Because the ideal is to seek inspiration, to be receptive to the environment, in contact with oneself in order to invest energy in what is truly productive: well-being and personal satisfaction.
Acceptance, pillar of the law of least effort
The second fundamental element of the law of least effort concerns the concept of acceptance. This is an excellent way to free ourselves from the pressures and burdens of worries, tensions and anxieties. How to behave?
Accept all that we cannot change. Every day, and we know it well, there are infinite aspects that produce disappointment, frustration and, for the most part, helplessness. Facts, dynamics and people over whom it is impossible to have control.
Being aware that things are not up to us, we will be able to accept everything that does not go as desired, allowing better balances to emerge that can be more stable. If we manage to take this very important step, we will find calm. But remember: acceptance doesn't mean giving up. It is understanding that there are realities that are far from ours.
The ideal, therefore, is to accept these facts and continue to invest in ourselves, coexisting with the dissonances that occur every day, between our actions, values, desires and aspirations.
We alone are responsible for our life
When we manage to accept things as they are, we will discover another aspect: that life is only in our hands. After reaching that inner calm that allows us to understand that everyone is free to choose their own path, to behave and think as they wish, we will discover that we possess great power. Obviously, a great responsibility must also be connected to it.
We are the undisputed owners of the kind of life that we would like to develop (and that we desire, that we like best). We are free to let go of everything that does not define us, that does not satisfy us and that, indeed, sometimes causes us suffering. We are responsible for this path, for every choice made following a path that, as a goal, we repeat it, has our happiness.
Let's not hide behind complaints, remorse or regrets. We don't need to blame others for what happens to us, because we are the ones wielding the helm of our own destiny. Think about it. Try to apply the law of least effort on a daily basis to manage stress correctly.
