The Law of Least Effort

You would think that the fourth law from the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra would be pretty laid back by the title alone, but in my opinion, it is the most difficult one to experience.

The law of least effort is based on nature acting effortlessly in harmony and love. It follows the principle of ‘do less and accomplish more.’ As a person in today’s society, this sounds almost impossible to achieve.

After reading about it, it makes a lot of sense. Our societal conditioning and desires of our ego displace a lot of our energy. I feel this whenever I try to fit in or do socially acceptable things instead of what I would prefer to do.

The ability to experience this law is problematic because it requires us to go against most, if not all, of what we’ve been taught.

With this law, we must accept people, situations, and events as they are and not what we want them to be. This requires us to go against our ego, which loves predictability. In accepting people, situations, and events as they are, we must also see every interaction as an opportunity for growth. Like with the law of pure potentiality, we must practice nonjudgment. Nothing is good, bad, right or wrong. They are, and we must ask ourselves, what can I learn from this experience.

In accepting things as they are, we need to also practice defenselessness. There is no need to explain ourselves. Not everyone will understand your actions, and trying to convince them of your point of view only uses up your precious energy.

I spent so much time not experiencing the law of least effort. I am a recovering people pleaser, and as a people pleaser, I felt good when situations and people were in good standing. I heavily judged things as good or bad and needed to control the narrative to ensure the outcome my ego wanted. My biggest pet peeve was people incorrectly judging me, so I often defended myself.

Today, I attempt to go with the flow and ask myself questions to determine the lessons and meaning behind people entering my life and the situations I find myself in. I have also learned that defending myself does nothing but stress me out because people will believe what they want, no matter what you say or show them.

Where can you apply this law to your life? Where do you see this law being complicated for you?