The law of reversed effort - the harder you try the less likely you are to succeed

I mean we sabotage our desire to be happy. How ? With our very fierce efforts we are making to achieve this state.

I like this law. I'm lazy. And not so smart.
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“The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed. Proficiency and the results of proficiency come only to those who have learned the paradoxical art of doing and not doing, or combining relaxation with activity, of letting go as a person in order that the immanent and transcendent unknown quantity may take hold. We cannot make ourselves understand; the most we can do is to foster a state of mind, in which understanding may come to us”. - Aldous Huxley (The Law of Reversed Effort)

According to The Law of Reversed Effort:

when a person’s desire and imagination are in conflict, his imagination will win.

In other words a person’s subconscious mind will accept the dominant idea of the mind no matter what you try to impress on it using your willpower. It will be working the other way. In fact the more you try to forcefully impress an idea or suggestion in your subconscious mind the quicker will be the opposite effect because your fear in such cases will be more dominant than you desire, it is very obvious that when a person is anxious he is acting out of fear on the other hand when a person is at peace it gets easier for his subconscious mind to work according to his wish.

I like to think of the law of reversed effort as being similar to the Zen teaching about clarity and muddy water quoted succinctly by Alan Watts:

“Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone”. – Alan Watts

or in The Wisdom of Insecurity:

I have always been fascinated by the law of reversed effort. Sometimes I call this phenomenon "the law of opposites". When trying to stay above water, you immerse yourself; Instead, if you try to dive, you float ... insecurity is the result of trying to find safety ... Contrary to common sense, saving and mental health are the result of radical faith that we have no chance to save ourselves. "

Are You Becoming Your Own Enemy? Never Try to Force a Suggestion on Your Subconscious Mind

Solution:

So, a wise thing to do when faced with such situation where the dominant thought is opposite of what is desired will be to relax and remove all the negative feelings. Using imagination in a fun manner rather than with anxiousness to achieve a specific result will be a very good option here.

French psychologist Cane defines it:

"When there is a conflict between imagination and willpower, imagination always wins."

Sounds weird, right? But it's not. Because our fear of doing something (that you find in your imagination) is stronger than the will to achieve it. Fear is often unconscious or rather is hidden in various levels of our conscious. Often we do not realize if we're afraid of something. It's normal. We are not professional therapists. The important fears are not easy to spot. They are not on ""the surface"": fear of others, animals, violence, failure. No.

For example, I'm still scared of conflicting situations, confrontations. Or failure. I fail to mobilize on the long term. I have the will to start something. But it's not enough. I go a few days, weeks, months. Pass a few steps. But fear of failure is well hidden. At some point, at a moment where I have to make a decision: if I continue or not, if I get over the negative feedback from others, if I give up or not, that's the time when my will that seemed strong dies. I'm out of fuel. The fear of failure, well hidden just won another round. In that moment, at a turning point, when the first confrontation between will and imagination (fear of failure) arrived.

Often, the intellect invents strong obstacles that influences the subconscious.

In fact the subconscious accepts the most powerful suggestion.

That's why working without an effort is most effective.

That's not good to force us, to impose our will because any effort will be in vain. We get exactly the reverse. That's the reversed effort law. You struggle, you lose. Because you can not fool yourself. You struggle to transform yourself, but you're not convinced of that, you lose. Because the interior remains the same, with the same fears, the same barriers for yourself over and over again. At some point they will defeat your little will to change your life.

A simple example:

Before the exam, the last hours, stressed to the max, I revising last time the course. Surprise: I can't remember anything. Nothing. Nada. Do you have a blank in the head. And I can't understand. I know the material, but simply I think I have forgotten everything. Because I panic, trying to impose my will and get stuck. Once out of the examination room, suddenly I know all the answers. I'm relaxed. I'm not self-imposing anything now. There is no need to know the material. It's over. I finally let things flow into their rhythm.

When we use our will, we create some opposition which translates into internal tensions.

The solution?

To avoid any conflict between aspiration and mind, which tends to find obstacles and barriers anywhere. The easiest way to relax consists deeply to be in a state of increased receptivity in which conscious mental activity are minimized. Well, there are few moments for this: before sleep and after sleep, when we are not fully awakened. In those moments there are no negative thoughts or other issues that we grind. If we have such negative thoughts, we feel them veiled, with not impact on us. And we realize that. Nobody gives a fuck about them in that moment.

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#psychology #selfdevelopment #thelawofreversedeffort #AllanWatts