I recently heard a quote that struck a chord with me, so today, I'm dishing out a little inspiration! Pull up a chair, and let's have a chat. Today we're going to talk about the path of least resistance.
The other day, I was in a workout class, hating life and mentally cursing myself for being there (I'm not much of a natural exerciser. It takes lots of effort and mental pep-talk for me). Anyway, I digress! Back to that class. The instructor told us to watch our form. She said:
“Your body will naturally take the path of least resistance, which will most likely hurt you in the end.”
This really struck me. She didn't say it to be profound, and I'm guessing she didn't say it intending to change my life…but isn't it interesting how inspiration comes in the strangest ways? I thought about what she said and realized it's 100% true! So, today, I want to talk about it!
MY EXPERIENCE TAKING THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE
In high school, I did cheerleading pretty hard-core (as hardcore as a tiny town with only one high school could be…but I like to think I was pretty hard-core). One day we were practicing, and I did a front roll. Not a fancy one, mind you: a normal, any two-year-old-with-half-a-brain-can-do-this roll. I came out of it weird and slightly tweaked something in my back. From that day forward, my back always bugged me, just a touch.
From that point on, I would always change how I held myself in practice to avoid that annoying little tweak. I would lean this way slightly when catching girls in stunts, land differently when doing gymnastics, and even started sitting differently in class. Rather than fixing my problem, I found the easiest way for my body to ignore it so I could go about doing what I wanted to do.
As you can imagine, it didn't take long for serious issues to take place. I got a weird pinch in the back of my leg that I again ignored, allowing my body to find a new path of motion to avoid it. Unfortunately, the pinch got worse and worse (I didn't know it was related to that still annoying tweak in my back). And before I knew it, I was being rushed to emergency back surgery in Portland to avoid permanent paralysis to my right leg due to a severely ruptured L5 disc. I was only 16 years old.
By ignoring the source of the problem, avoiding the proper way of recovering from it, and allowing my body to find the path of least resistance, I forever injured myself. Though surgery pretty much fixed the damage I had done, it was expensive, burdensome, had a long, hard, painful recovery, and ruined my cheerleading career at the most crucial time. Not to mention that I will – for the rest of my life – have recurring issues, relapses, and injuries because I didn't nip my problem in the bud years ago.
HOW MANY TIMES DO WE ALL TAKE THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE?
Sometimes we choose the path of least resistance without thinking about it. But often, we choose the easy way without stopping, looking ahead, comparing it to the rough path, pulling out a map, and figuring out if it's truly the best path for us or not; if it will lead us to where we want to go if it's a short cut or a long route…and if it's actually as easy as it seems.
This photo struck me because it's REAL. It's a real snake, sure, but it's REAL LIFE. This (…gross, horrifying nightmarish…) little snake is taking the path that is already paved. He's following along, taking the “easy route,” if you will, without realizing that it's taking him longer to get to his destination and making the job much harder along the way! If he were to ignore the easy path and forge ahead on his own on top of the tiles rather than around them, he'd make a straight line and get there faster, with much less trouble.
REAL TALK: WE'RE ALL GUILTY OF IT
Eating out. Buying our kids too much for Christmas. Buying pre-frozen meals. Hiring someone to mow our lawns for us. Getting into debt rather than saving up for something. Giving our kids money for whatever they want. Shopping – grocery and otherwise – instead of making do with what we have. Paying people to do things for us that we can do for ourselves. Buying things we don't need but want. Ordering takeout. Pampering ourselves. Buying a new car, even though the one we have works fine. Vacations. Ignoring the real problems with our financial situation and choosing to feel the pain instead of facing the facts.
Many of these are good, common, normal things and lead to lots of instant happiness! However, for most of us, these are “the path of least resistance”-type things. We think they are making our lives easier and more enjoyable, and there's no doubt they are certainly enjoyable, but in the long run, they are most likely slowing us down and making our lives much harder in the end.
A CHALLENGE FOR YOU
I challenge you all to think about your path. Focus on the end goal, and work backward. Don't have an end goal? Set one. Where do you want to go? Why? How are you going to get there? Why? You need to know where you're headed so you can focus on the path it will take to get there.
Take a moment to think about what you're buying and why. Sometimes that two seconds of conscious decision-making is what will make the biggest difference in your life. Stop getting by, and start getting ahead.
Looking for more motivation or inspiration?
- Find out how I get motivated and STAY motivated.
- Learn how and why to start celebrating the small victories!
- Take our man in the mirror challenge and start focusing on positive self-talk.
For heaven's sake, stay away from snakes!
I love this post! Very thought provoking 🙂
Thanks!!! XOXO
This came at the right time, I really needed to read this today. I deal with chronic pain too, and it’s easier to not move. It’s painful to exert yourself when your body is fighting you. I sometimes think, well I’m thin so it’s not important, but I was losing muscle tone in my arms and getting worse as a result. I’ve had to make some tough decisions, to move into a more affordable house, to homeschool my son. It would have been easier to do nothing because change is painful. But it’s necessary to keep moving. Thank you for your inspiring post and inspirational website.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever commented before, but I had to this time. This is an awesome post. I need to change my mentality. The last sentence in particular struck me… “Stop getting by, and start getting ahead.” This works for all aspects of life. Man, humans are lazy, huh?? It’s all about discipline. I loved that quote you posted the other day by President Hinckley. Thank you!!
Thank you so much for sharing, and thanks for commenting! Welcome to the fam! haha. Keep the comments coming, your positive energy is contagious. XOXO
Great post, Jordan. I am inspired!
Lots of love, Kelly!! XOXO
I wanted to say THANK YOU for your inspiration! My family has used the cash system for 2 years and have been debt free but we continued to live paycheck to paycheck with no savings. I am proud to say that in 3 weeks of following your challenges, my family has opened a savings account and deposited almost $200 in “extra” money!!!! I have since revamped our budget and am looking forward to saving more than that every month from here on out. We are ready to take on the hard path to achieve our goals!
I’m so happy for you I want to cry! Congrats, what a huge accomplishment! So proud of you, and thanks for sharing XOXO
Beautifully written and very inspiring! Well done!
Thanks a million Heather! XOXO
Wow! That was a beautifully written piece. I read things all the time in blogland, a lot of good things even, but this one is a FOREVER KEEPER. I am going to print this (with snake, my worst nightmare also) and keep it for inspiration.
Thank you so much. I think you wrote this just for me!
That means so much, thanks Judy!
Started with the budget envelope 3 weeks ago. Opened a new savings account as my emergency fund. I am very eager to be debt free this year. So far, so good. I am pumped and have been spreading the news to friends and families. Thanks Jordan for all the help 🙂
Yay! Keep me posted and let me know how it goes!
I have to comment as well to say this is an extremely well written post! And I LOVE your sense of humor 🙂
You hit the nail on the head! Thanks for shaking me out of my comfort zone. Can’t wait to set more goals! And try your financial ideas. Now no more debt. Plus may I share, I too was struggling with aches, pains, swelling, fatigue overall malaise. Then a friend introduced me to juicing. For a funny approach that has changed my
life – check out the video ‘Fat,Sick and nearly Dead.’ (Amazon) Funny, inspirational and spot on. It’s one man’s journey to wholeness. I have stepped away from all grain(GMO) dairy and meat and processed foods. No whites aka no sugar, flour, potatoes, rice, basically juicing and raw organic fruit nuts & veggies. Extreme? Maybe. But I feel great! Physically life changing! No more aches.n.pains, swelling etc. (could that be because of no more sugar(?!) soda, additives, preservatives, coloring/dyes hormone injected meats etc…)and if I do eat something not healthy, immediately my sinus act up and I get congested as my mucus membranes try to get ride of the toxins! Now at 56 I feel on the outside like I think on the inside. (25ish!) Just sayin’ a possible solution? Hope this helps (:
Beautiful article that I just had to share with family and friends. It gives me lots to think about. Thanks so much Jordan for being so caring and sharing 🙂
I loved this post Jordan. Thank you for sharing your vulnerabilities with us. I have so many that I try hide or cover up, but after reading this, I am wondering why I care about them so much. We all have our stuff. I need to find out why I haven’t been open to changing the things I don’t like. I am going to make a list today and start thinking differently. Thanks for the motivation.
Thanks for sharing Jill!! XOXOXOXO
I know this wasn’t the main focus of your post, but I have to ask. I also had serious back/leg pain and had surgery to repair a ruptured L4-5 disc when I was 18. How has your body held up with your pregnancies? I’ve only had 2 and my pain has really started to increase… but I don’t want to be done having babies and I’m not sure what to do! Have you seen any doctors here in Utah that you would recommend?? Thanks Jordan!
I know this wasn’t the main focus of your post, but I have to ask. I also had serious back/leg pain and had surgery to repair a ruptured L4-5 disc when I was 18. How has your body held up with your pregnancies? I’ve only had 2 and my pain has really started to increase… but I don’t want to be done having babies and I’m not sure what to do! Have you seen any doctors here in Utah that you would recommend?? Thanks Jordan!
This might be one of my favorite posts. Its not directly instructive, but rather has points that you could apply to almost anything in life- which makes it more personal. I am so excited to start thinking about how I can do things in my own differently, to take the path that will lead to long lasting joy, and not just momentary happiness!