Ok, ngl, a trifle under 80 (but not much). And a trifle over 50 too – ok, not just a trifle. Also, to clarify – This is NOT a body shaming vs. body positivity rant.
The reason is really, that the only exercise I like, is swimming (and of-course I like beer). Can not STAND the gym. Can NOT run (thats a bit of a catch 22 – too fat to run (or rock and roll), though running would make me less fat)….(also, too young to die!) And, sadly, swimming is just so painful to do – the pre and post swim rituals I mean. If you are a girl, more so. If you have long hair, even more so! Disrobe/ shower/ change/ find cap and goggles and robe/ walk or drive x no. of steps to go to pool/ shower again – then of course inch yourself cm by cm into generally colder temp water than your body temp. Post which, I can actually swim laps and laps and laps. Then post swim, get out of blasted wet suit/ shower including shampoo/ wash and dry related clothes,/ moisturise more than normal/ sometimes jump with head on one side to get water out of ear……man, it really takes love to do it! If it was like, say, walking – I would be totally 50 at 50! I kid you not!
Similarly, as we all know, whatsap changed data sharing policy. The world was in uproar. Elon Musk advised folks to switch to Signal. And a different Signal’s stock went up 1100%! Every single group I am on debated if we should switch to signal or telegram. PR disaster for Whatsap? Yes, of course. But even till Facebook/ Whatsap issued their addendums and clarifications, maybe only 40% of the folks I know were actually thinking of shifting. Of which, maybe 80% actually downloaded the other apps. And then, I think maybe 30% of them are actually using them.
Why do you think this happened? It’s all about “going with the flow”. The flow is a powerful thing. It basically takes you down the path of least resistance. It makes you do the easiest thing.
A corollary for this is that if an “agency” for want of a better word wants their target to adopt them, they need to make it the path of least resistance.
Like one clicks instead of two on a website/ home delivery instead of pick up/ pre peeled and cut veggies and prawns/ automatically playing videos/ repeated reminder notifications for dental appointments and insurance renewals with pre filled forms/ self watering planters/ implementation task force that handholds for installation of enterprise platforms….any more?
For the first time in my life, I did a 10 day walking challenge last year – the Oxfam trail thingie. And oh btw, I did it three times over. Not because I suddenly developed a hitherto hidden love for walking. But because it was so easy to do! No going to a specific place (those 3 am starts for the marathons??? Ugh!!!), no training for many days prior (obviously, if you are running a 10K, heck even a 3K, you need to build up the stamina for it!), no need to download any specific app….you chose when/ where/ how you walked/ran…all you did was log it on any meter whatsoever; and at the end of the day, send it in. I even got a certificate. Easy to do!
Conversely, with the best will in the world, any action requiring behavioural change is NOT going to result in desired impact if it’s difficult to do. I got a lamp repaired today. A simple desk lamp, which had shorted (nearly burning my finger in the process) due to an exposed wire. What would have been my normal course of action, throw it away, and order a new one on amazon (its SO easy to do!). As a side note, e-commerce has definitely increased spending – if you can buy things sitting at home by one click, you do tend to over order. Swiggy, Dunzo – all easy to do….but because I was trying to add steps to my routine, I decided to walk to the electrical repair shop some km and a half away. He fixed it, I paid him 50/-, and came away feeling very virtuous (in context, younger daughter had been making noises about having a zero waste lifestyle – and I guess reuse is the best aspect of zero waste). As I was walking back, feeling the glow of satisfaction at having done my bit for the environment and my pocket, I was wondering – why wouldn’t I do this normally? Why would I throw away even lightly broken stuff and buy new all the time? And realised I do it, because it takes incremental effort to repair, while buying is far easier!
It’s also like what I was saying in my previous blog – any new habit (including conversion to using automation) takes effort and a change from current behaviour – hence adoption takes time. Hence companies need to think about how can they make any intended action easy to do.
This is what inertia is – tendency to remain in state of motion or rest unless an external agency is applied – so you do the easiest thing. A stream follows the path of least resistance.
I attended a webinar run by my young friend Sanjith in conjunction with the BIC. It was a group of Young Adults talking about excessive use of screen and its impact etc. One of the boys said that there are apps that make your screen go blank for a few seconds every 10 mins or so, and force you to blink your eyes for 5 secs (thus remedying one of the problems that screens have – fewer blink cycles). He made the same point of doing something ONLY when it is the path of least resistance – the easy thing to do. To catch more of this awesome talk, see youtube link — (55 mins-is).
Don’t get me wrong, I LIKE the path of least resistance – I am a strong believer in Russell’s philosophy of praising idleness (in all fairness, I do have the demonstrable ability to work hard when required, but I am a lazy cat when its not!). Question to ask though – is the path of least resistance necessarily the best thing for you??? Does battling odds make you emerge stronger/ better/ more capable? (Theme for next blog post maybe 🙂 )
So, what have you done last year, that you wouldn’t do otherwise, because it was easy to do? Write in comments
joshsang 