"You are like a river. You go through life taking the path of least resistance. ... If a riverbed remains unchanged, the water will continue to flow along the path it always has, since that is the most natural route for it to take. If the underlying structure of your life remain unchanged, the greatest tendency is for you to follow the same direction your life has always taken. ... Just as engineers can change the path of a river by changing the structure of the terrain so that the river flows where they want it to go, you can change the very basic structure of your life so that you can create the life you want." (4, 5)
The more the "water" flows through our lives, the more the path becomes ingrained in us. If we attempt to change without addressing the underlying structure, progress can feel like a losing battle. We rely on willpower to make the "right" choice. In time, we give in and ultimately return to the path of least resistance.
We're often unaware these structures and pathways exist until they get disrupted. Having your first child, relocating to a new city, changing jobs. These experiences show us how set we are in our habits and beliefs because suddenly, there's resistance, and we can no longer do what was once second nature. We adapt, creating a new structure or trying to recreate what once was.
1. We move through life by taking the path of least resistance.
2. The underlying structure of our lives determines the path of least resistance.
3. We can change the underlying fundamental structures of our lives.
Even without going that far, it leads us to live in a closed, circular system: if our tendency is primarily to respond to circumstances, then our path of least resistance leads us towards a more reactive state. And if our tendency is more to react to circumstances then our path of least resistance leads us towards response mode. And so we move successively from one state to another, because it is easier to do this than to change the general structure, easier to solve problems rather than create.
This is the fundamental problem of solving problems: the path of least resistance takes us from the worst to the best, then from the best back to the worst. This is because the actions we take to address the problem mitigate the problem. Then, when the severity of the problem decreases because of the actions that we take, the motivation to take more action in turn decreases. So the problem remains. Then it may increase again later in a continuous stagnant cycle.
The tendency for any structure is to fix every stress that it suffers by going down the path of least resistance. If you stretch an elastic band, it tends to revert to its original form as soon as you release it.
Once you make a fundamental choice aligned with your vision, while knowing your present reality, you create what you want with less effort. Your new path of least resistance leads you to your desired destination so you cannot but get the future you envision. People, processes, and circumstances align themselves once you decide to become the creative force in your life.
Everybody wears an unseen sign that reads: Inspire me. Remind me that my life matters; call me to be my best self; appeal to whatever in me is most noble and honorable. Don't let me go down the path of least resistance. Challenge me to make my life about something more than the acquisition of money or success
When you value your integrity at the highest level, living alignment with your word and following through with your commitments no matter what, there are no limits to what you can create for your life. However, when you make excuses, justify doing what easiest, and choose the path of least resistance, you will live a life of mediocrity, frustration and regret. Live with integrity as if your life depended on it, because it does.
If we always take the path of least resistance, if we embrace inertia, if we never leap, if we never accept accountability for our choices, how can we find any triumph in our victories or any remorse in our losses?
There are those that say, if you do the uncomfortable thing long enough, it will become comfortable. But we are really not encouragers of that. We are encouragers of coming into alignment, and then taking the action. We are encouragers always of getting rid of the fear; we would never want you to keep doing things that you feel fearful about. And maybe the path of least resistance is just not get on the horse. Maybe the path of least resistance is to get on a different horse - but we would never move forward in fear.
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance. Never settle for the path of least resistance. Livin' might mean takin' chances but they're worth takin'. Lovin might be a mistake but it's worth makin'.
Never, however, do I take shortcuts. There is not path of least resistance in my training. What I do equates to hard manual labor, disciplined grunt work. Once you permit yourself to compromise, you fail yourself. You might be able to fool some people, but you can never fool yourself. Your toughest critic is the one you face every morning in the mirror.
Those who have chosen the path of least resistance in life, who cannot bear to bring themselves to make a stern value-judgment in criticism of their own most intimate feelings, achieve what they deserve: not self-understanding but radical self-superficialization, not a discovered but a self-ascribed identity that explains nothing, reveals nothing, means nothing, and ultimately accomplishes nothing culturally or intellectually.
The definition is often used to explain whether an object or individual follows a certain direction. The flow of water is sometimes used as an example of the concept. That being said since electrons repel one another, the cumulative path of least resistance has approximately equal current flowing along each path. The reason for this is that three paths made of similarly conductive wire would have a cumulative resistance one-third that of a single direction. Finally, the current is often spread inversely proportional to resistance overall potential directions.
A description of the Path of Least Resistance: The path of least resistance principle defines an object traveling down a path. The target chooses the shortest path to its destination. Object with the ability to pass, drive, toss, oscillate, or revolve. An object subjected to some kind of force decides the shortest distance or direction to take. This definition encompasses everything, including water, sound, and temperature. Finally, it is capable of determining some potential direction or route.
Talking of some practical examples, in consideration of gravity, throwing an object upwards causes it to fall. It transfers heat from hot to cold bodies. However, there is no precise measurement. Similarly, in an electric circuit, current flows down a certain direction. Current flows in all directions that are open. The path of least resistance aids in the discovery of a simpler solution to a problem. It stops having to make tough choices.
Robert fritz gave three insights for the path of least resistance: If a system is formed, energy flows into it along the path of least resistance, or in other words, the energy goes where it is easier for it to go. This is valid not only for cows but for all of nature. A river's water runs in the course of least resistance. The breeze blowing through Manhattan's asphalt canyons follows the direction of least resistance.
The second insight will be the direction of least resistance is determined by the fundamental nature of your life. The landscape around Boston dictated the path of least resistance for the cows to take, and just as a riverbed decides the course of the water running through it, the systems of your life decide your path of least resistance.
The third insight will be about the ability to alter the basic underlying mechanisms of your life. You can alter the simplest framework of your life and build the life you desire, just as engineers can change the course of a river by modifying the structure of the landscape so that the river flows where they want it to go. Besides that, until a new fundamental framework is in motion, the ultimate thrust of your life, such as the force of the river's current, surges to shape the outcomes you really desire. And the direct route to those outcomes becomes the direction of least resistance. In reality, with sufficient changes in the fundamental framework of your life, the road of least resistance cannot lead anywhere other than in the direction you really desire.
Electricity is related to the direction of least resistance. There would be a combined resistance for parallel routes. Ohm's law applies where voltage is produced. Whereas if paths were parallel, a combined resistance is created. The current is then determined by dividing the voltage by the resistance within each direction. Current is termed as the electric charge which flows from one point to another in a circuit. Voltage is termed as the potential difference in charge between two endpoints in an electrical field. Resistance is termed as the rate of opposition to the flow of current in an electrical circuit. It is measured in terms of ohms, omega (Ω).
Present, whether natural or fault current, will still find a source. Electrical current can flow along all open pathways. It continues to find its way back to its origin. When there are several pathways for current to flow, it splits the direction. The resistance of each path, in fact, determines how much current flows on each path. The greater the opposition, the lower the current.
Current flows in both directions. When energy follows the direction of least resistance, the resistance of the pathways varies. When one direction has a far higher resistance than the other, almost all of the current will pass into the other path. Resistance has the downside of wasting resources.
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