Business owners and entrepreneurs try as hard as they can to achieve their goals every single day. Tight deadlines are everywhere, and our clients need results now. However, what if weโre trying too hard?
The Law of Reversed Effort states that sometimes, the harder you try, the less you will succeed. On the other hand, we know that complete inaction never leads to success. Although this may appear to be a contradiction, it is not. The answer lies in finding the balance between brute force and relaxing enough to allow your unconscious mind to guide your way to the flow state.
What Is The Law of Reversed Effort?
We have all had nights where sleep was hard to come by. One of the things we realize early on is that the harder we try to sleep, the less likely we are to do it. Sleeping is just one of those things that you cannot force through effort; it has to come to you.
Aldous Huxley first coined the concept of the Law of Reversed Effort in his Essays, saying:
โThe harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed.โ
For some, this concept may seem confusing or surprising. However, you may have experienced the effects of this law without knowing it. For instance, have you ever sat down to work on a difficult project with a rapidly approaching deadline and just couldnโt make any progress? You find yourself in a stressful situation where it feels like the ideas just arenโt coming, no matter how hard you try. Then, you let go. You donโt try as hard and just see what happens. The result is that the project is soon completed and delivered.
We can look at another common example, learning a musical instrument. Music teachers will almost always tell new students that they need to focus on โrelaxing.โ This is because these teachers know that the best players do not have to try to concentrate on getting each note right. Instead, they lose themselves in the flow of the music, allowing their bodies to become an extension of the instrument.
This is what the Law of Reversed Effort looks like in the real world.
Trying Too Hard To Get Into The Zone
As humans, we have an extraordinary ability to work faster and better with our unconscious minds than when we are using conscious effort. This is why so many of us try to โget into the zoneโ or achieve the โflow state.โ Ultimately, it makes sense that professionals are striving to enter this state. In the โzone,โ they can get more done at a higher level and speed than they could generally achieve. This ability leads to practical results. If you can more easily reach a flow state, you can deliver better results for your clients and grow your business.
The challenge is this โ we need to stop trying to get into the zone. To truly unlock your full potential, you need to recognize that you cannot force your unconscious mind to take action. So many people struggle to achieve their goals and stay focused โ because they do not understand the Law of Reversed Effort. The lesson we must learn is how to allow ourselves to reach a flow state so that we can get more done for ourselves and our businesses.
Relaxation + Practice = Results
These may be interesting psychological or philosophical concepts, but how can we practically implement them in our businesses and endeavors? The first step we must take is to stop trying to apply greater effort to achieve our goals. This isnโt about quitting or giving up. Itโs more about learning when itโs better to stop and get re-aligned. We need to allow ourselves inaction so that our unconscious minds can begin to work. Itโs all about making things simpler.
Practically, this may look like taking a break, or it may be more about changing your approach. Instead of trying to create the best thing or aiming for perfection, just throw out ideas. This is one common strategy that writers use to avoid writerโs block. Instead of just staring at the blank page and getting more frustrated, it often helps just to write whatever comes out of your head, even if itโs not good. A key element of this mentality is also giving yourself permission to fail. You cannot relax and enter a flow state if you are in a constant state of anxiety.
The other critical piece of this puzzle is practice. In order to get into the zone, you need to know your task well enough to do it unconsciously. This requires years of steady practice, day in and day out. Eventually, you hit a point where you start making connections you didnโt see before, and your unconscious mind starts to fill in the gaps. This is when you can truly make the most of the Law of Reverse Effort.
Looking To Get More Done With Less Effort? Matcha Can Help
Marketing and design can be overwhelming and can distract you from getting into the flow state when doing the tasks necessary to lead your business. However, Matcha Design makes things simple. With our years of experience as a full-service creative B2B agency, we can take your vision and turn it into a reality. Contact us today to get started!
