We’re Wired to Take the Path of Least Resistance

We’re Wired to Take the Path of Least Resistance

Arvind David – Vice President, Digital Experience

3-minute read time

Originally Posted By Arvind David on LinkedIn

I recently read an article based on a university in London that discovered something we knew all along about the human species. Still, we all collectively denied it: We’re LAZY!

Of course, this isn’t a trait unique to humans. As a famous Gen – Y influencer once said,

“everything takes the path of least resistance: water, electricity, and Google maps.”

Scientific studies have started to question whether man domesticated wolves or wolves evolved into domestic dogs because it was easier to scavenge on human trash than to track down prey.

This article is not about condemning being lazy, but about discussing how sometimes laziness can be used to our advantage. I am a very lazy person myself. It does shock many people around me who know my career path and know the hours I work to manage my multiple businesses. I am super lazy, and that is the truth. I am a lazy guy who finds the easiest way to finish a task to move on to the next task and use the time I save to take a break. This is what I call efficient laziness. This is what I believe is the path of least resistance.

Jokes aside, the path of least resistance is the most intelligent way to do things in most situations. One such situation is the digital transformation of your organization. Our collective experience in the industry as an organization and my personal experience working with companies trying to upgrade to IP has been one of great learning. When you offer people an innovative and easy solution, I have learned that they are almost always skeptical.

You back it up with proof that the largest federal agency globally, the largest space agency in the world, and thousands of other organizations have benefited from this. They try their best to make an excuse as to why it wouldn’t work for them. They tell me they would prefer taking the traditional approach, costing them more and wasting resources, time, and money.

So I now question this study. If we are all wired to take the path of least resistance, then why is it an uphill struggle for us to embrace change or paradigm-shifting technology that will make life easier? Is this evolution’s way of weeding out the weak something like “survival of the smartest”? I don’t have the answer, but I encourage you all to think about this. Ask yourself, if there is an easy way, which is proven to be efficient to solve a problem but is new to you and goes against everything you have learned, are you going to stay in your comfort zone and let your education interfere with your ability to learn and implement new things? Food for thought for the weekend!

If you are interested in learning more about a new way of approaching any digital transformation problems you have, book some time with our digital transformation experts and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

As a vendor-agnostic solution, we try our best to have all the answers!

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