---
title: The Law of Reversed Effort
modified: 2026-06-29
---

> “The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed.” — Aldous Huxley

* Examples
	* When you press to try to complete a creative task, you become less creative.
	* When you actively push to try to find the perfect partner, you rarely find that person.
	* When you try to force yourself to fall asleep, you stare at the ceiling awake.
* When you fight against the wind while walking, you struggle like an angry fish swimming upstream. You get tired, frustrated, and blame the river for being a river. People call this “going with the flow,” but I say: be like a smart fish. A smart fish uses the current to go faster instead of fighting the current to go nowhere. I have learned to look at what is already happening and then join in. When the wind blows east, I walk east. When the ground is wet, I plant water-loving plants. When I stop fighting reality and start working with it, the current stops being my enemy and becomes my ally.
* **Action:** The 85% Rule (Balanced Effort)

---

[Ten Years, Twenty Years](https://huam.ing/ten-years-twenty-years)