Every career aptitude test I took pushed me towards a more creative field and my initial career path was aimed at becoming an architect. My hobbies were playing sports, guitar, and art and I didn’t see a path where any of those things would pay the bills. I struggled in college in the beginning. I found myself without a clear target in my life, as many young men and women do, much to the chagrin of my parents and a lack of direction or purpose is a challenge for a lot of people.
I believe finding the place where your talent and passion intersect with the world’s needs is where you can discover your life’s calling but I was completely lost so I took the path of least resistance, I took a full-time job in the Water Department where I had been working as a seasonal employee during the summers. I was by far the least mechanically inclined employee, but I learned, grew and enjoyed the people I worked with. Being comfortable with your job isn’t the worst thing in the world but feeling like you have unfulfilled potential can be and I was beginning to get discouraged. I felt lost.
The path of least resistance is a metaphorical path that offers the easiest or simplest course of action and let’s be honest, it’s just nature; just like a river coming down a mountain the riverbed acts as a guide delivering the water to its next destination. Robert Fritz wrote about this in his book ‘The Path of Least Resistance’ and he articulates that the underlying structure of your life determines your path of least resistance much like a riverbed does with the water flowing through it. Whether you are aware of these structures or not, they are always there, and the structure of the river remains the same whether it has water or not.
The path of least resistance, albeit easier, often isn’t as fulfilling. We need to challenge and push ourselves. When we are vulnerable, we are able to build resilience, and this is when we get real value from our work. It is similar to muscle atrophy when muscles aren’t used enough or aren’t experiencing enough resistance training. While I was being challenged physically and learning a lot about construction, water systems, and things I knew very little about I wasn’t utilizing my talents or doing the types of things that were providing me a real challenge and very little intrinsic value.
Becoming more intentional about the path we are on is important. Opting for the road less travelled as opposed to the path of least resistance is a choice. From Robert Frosts wonderful poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
If you want to make a difference and be fulfilled, recognizing that you are on the path of least resistance is the first step towards getting off that path. Like water we can continue to follow that path and flow downhill or we can embrace the hard, embrace the resistance, and step out of our comfort zone. As humans we all have doubts and insecurities and in turn struggle with feeling confidence especially when doing hard or new things. Shifting our focus and running towards our weaknesses helps us address these shortcomings and we are able to adopt a new perspective of ourselves.
Once I began to recognize the path I was on wasn’t serving me, I was able to start making changes. I became more assertive, asking for different duties that would showcase other talents I did have that would be beneficial to the city, including my organizational and computer skills. I was given more opportunities and was able to demonstrate my worth and, in turn, I became a more valuable employee. I took the initiative to learn new things including developing knowledge about other departments that I was much less comfortable with. I also took on other roles outside of my job title, one of which was acting as President of the Employees Association, which I gained new perspective and stretched myself even further.
By taking on harder things I felt more motivated, more engaged and was excited to come to work. I felt extremely proud of many of the improvements that my team and I were making. My attitude and our outcomes reflected that. As humans our well-being is directly tied to the feeling we get from intrinsically fulfilling work. As we dictate the path we are on the more control we feel like we have in our lives, and that increased level of autonomy is an absolute must for satisfying our basic psychological needs.
Once we begin to embrace the pain and anxiety that comes with the hard road, we are better positioned to handle it in the future. As we accept that there will be discomfort. We get more and more repetitions our tolerance grows, and it becomes easier and easier to push ourselves. Taking on risk when we have the potential to fail is when we develop real competence, it is the fear of failure that helps us value and appreciate our success.
There is never a true appreciation of any success without the struggle. That is why we need to embrace the hard road. Author David McCullough, Jr. said it well, “Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air, and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.”
Those that choose the road less traveled will struggle, will fail, and ultimately learn, grow and make a difference. Those who take this road will realize they are stronger and more talented than used to believe. Those who walk this path will receive opportunities they once didn’t believe possible and define who they are, what they believe in and what really matters. Those who make this journey will reflect on both the success and failure and embrace them as part of the expedition. Those moments give texture to this life and that texture gives us depth.
Take the hard road. Embrace the tough. Enjoy the journey. Watch yourself grow. Trust me, the increased difficulty is worth the experience you will have and the beautiful destinations you will see.
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