The Path Of Least Resistance

One of many pieces of wisdom I picked up in my time learning the storytelling craft in a Scott Myers online class was the idea of choosing the path of least resistance. The course was on screenwriting, and the notion was that you could do yourself a big favour by choosing the path to have your film made with the fewest obstacles.

So, for example, if you're a first-time writer, your way of least resistance probably involves keeping your script helicopter free. Of course, you could also do yourself a big favour by creating a good story.

The idea keeps popping up in my life; as I read stories of others and look at my life; writing, business, and work. It has a nice ring to it – the path of least resistance and gives a binary perspective to the projects, work and conversations you take on.

What is the path of least resistance to a life well lived? What is a life of maximum resistance? What is resistance? Is it possible to capture it at the moment, or is it only recognised retrospectively?

I’m on a journey to find out.

Last week I saw a Linked In post about a blog written by a palliative nurse in Australia who recorded the top five regrets she heard from her patients as they were dying. You can read the full blog from Truth Theory here, but below are the top two:

1.?????Being true to oneself – having the courage to live the life they wanted, rather than the expected one.

2.?????Wished they’d worked less

These regrets speak of being on a path of too much resistance towards a life well lived.

Living another up to others’ expectations, or spending time working, when there was a better way to spend your time – resistance.?

The path of least resistance isn't the same as taking the easy road; it's eliminating unnecessary struggles along the way to doing something important.

Knowing what looks like resistance means understanding your path – a road in the direction you wish to travel. Which can be hard to find sometimes and harder to hold onto in life of distractions – digital or otherwise.??

Losing your path can feel like you've come under a spell.

In storytelling, the spell is a familiar feature. Think of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, where young Kai has his heart pierced by the queen, making him forget his old life and purpose. Likewise, in Lord of The Ring, King Theoden is put under a spell by his malicious advisor and forgets his duties to his Kingdom. The force (sorry!) of resistance is strong with these characters, and it takes an epic tale to help them return.

In life, as in fiction, the dangers of losing focus mean we can stumble off our road of purpose. Although in stories, the character often returns to their former selves – in life, it's not always so.

I've been reading a lot of Raymond Chandler stories lately. He was the British/American godfather of the hard-boiled detective genre of novels. But before that, he was a heavy-drinking, unhappy oil executive in prohibition LA where the Great Depression was sending families to the streets in droves.?

When he wa fired in 1932 after repeated drunken behaviour, he decided to become a writer. He was 44 and knew that to meet his goal, he needed to set up his path of least resistance; this included carrying on his non-drinking by moving out of LA, removing himself from his old drinking circle and studying the existing pulp classics.

A year later, his first short story was published in Black Mask, the magazine he had spent so much time studying. Six years later, he published his first novel, The Big Sleep. In the forties, he was becoming friendly with the superstar Humphrey Bogart, pissing off Billy Wilder and making various names for himself in Hollywood.??

As his wife, his senior of 20 years, dealt with cancer and ailing health, he switched back onto the booze. This was now his path of least resistance as he used alcohol to deal with her deterioration.

Are internal resistance points such as debt, anxiety, fear etc. easier to get rid of than external resistance points such as bad bosses, boring colleagues, and unimaginative leaders? Or is it the other way around?

Are resistance points temporary, with a finish date, or permanent feeling, with no end to the struggle??

Maybe you're too young, or busy or not the kind of person to see the path that you wish to take your life down; therefore, how would you know if it is resistance-less or resistance-ful?

What about adopting it as a general principle? What is the path of least resistance to fulfilling work, losing weight, generating leads, learning new skills, reducing debt, happiness, getting the attention of a friend, and giving the best to the world – one piece at a time?

Maybe important things look different when charted on a path of least resistance? The mountain looks higher the further you are away from it. What obstacles are keeping you from getting closer on this day?

What does the path of least resistance for a good day tomorrow mean for you?

Good luck, and thanks for reading.?