- Joined
- Dec 25, 2012
- Messages
- 1,124
Just wanted to share something that made the Law of Least Effort click in my mind...
The other day, as I was helping my grandfather bust up some ice on his driveway, he told me to take a break while he takes over. Now my grandpa has Parkinson's disease, a degeneration of the connections that run from brain to body. He can barely walk. I however, see strength in this man still. I give him the shovel and stand off to the side to rest.
His method of breaking up the ice is different than mine. Mine was at times like a blitz, a fury of attacks on the frozen sheets, expending lots of energy and breaking up lots of ice. My grandfather, couldn't do this even if he tried. Yet, he broke up as much ice as I did! He was barely bending down, merely sliding the shovel into the ice again and again. Once the shovel would stick, he would use the shovel to pry pieces up that were about 2 square feet at a time.
Noticing this, I adopted this method, remembering some golf advice my older cousin gave me. My cousin noticed I was drilling the ball as hard as I could and stopped me. "Hit like a grandpa," he said. "Easy." The ball soared much farther with a relaxed hit.
After awhile of breaking up the ice I managed to play around with body positions and striking the ice with different attacks like some kind of martial artist. Hearing a quote in my head from Bruce Lee this time... "I fear not the man who practiced a thousand different kicks, but the man who practiced one kick a thousand times." I managed to find a method of breaking the ice that only required me to use one hand, stand up straight, relaxed and comfortable and allow me to break up lots of ice in a short amount of time. I was amazed.
I began thinking "how would a wise man do this?", as I would go through my day and find everything easier when I myself eased it along and did it relaxed and comfortable.
This is the law of least effort. A wise man takes things at a comfortable pace so he can observe what's happening and make changes as he goes, and relaxed so he can think straight and efficiently. Think of how Chase advocates moving slow........
The other day, as I was helping my grandfather bust up some ice on his driveway, he told me to take a break while he takes over. Now my grandpa has Parkinson's disease, a degeneration of the connections that run from brain to body. He can barely walk. I however, see strength in this man still. I give him the shovel and stand off to the side to rest.
His method of breaking up the ice is different than mine. Mine was at times like a blitz, a fury of attacks on the frozen sheets, expending lots of energy and breaking up lots of ice. My grandfather, couldn't do this even if he tried. Yet, he broke up as much ice as I did! He was barely bending down, merely sliding the shovel into the ice again and again. Once the shovel would stick, he would use the shovel to pry pieces up that were about 2 square feet at a time.
Noticing this, I adopted this method, remembering some golf advice my older cousin gave me. My cousin noticed I was drilling the ball as hard as I could and stopped me. "Hit like a grandpa," he said. "Easy." The ball soared much farther with a relaxed hit.
After awhile of breaking up the ice I managed to play around with body positions and striking the ice with different attacks like some kind of martial artist. Hearing a quote in my head from Bruce Lee this time... "I fear not the man who practiced a thousand different kicks, but the man who practiced one kick a thousand times." I managed to find a method of breaking the ice that only required me to use one hand, stand up straight, relaxed and comfortable and allow me to break up lots of ice in a short amount of time. I was amazed.
I began thinking "how would a wise man do this?", as I would go through my day and find everything easier when I myself eased it along and did it relaxed and comfortable.
This is the law of least effort. A wise man takes things at a comfortable pace so he can observe what's happening and make changes as he goes, and relaxed so he can think straight and efficiently. Think of how Chase advocates moving slow........
