Wu Wei: The Path of Effortless Action

At some point or another most of us wonder if we’re doing “the right thing”.

We dream. We scheme. We overthink. We overanalyze. During these mental gymnastics, we tend to try very hard. There’s a lot of “force” involved.

While this seems acceptable (or even good) on the surface, over time this creates a disconnected experience of life with many side effects. Most of these come in the form of mental and physical health problems.

In response to this, someone would say “well don’t try as hard”. Fair enough. But why should you try at all? Is it possible?

The answer is “yes”. Not only is possible, it is desirable as well. This “effortless action” is called wu wei (pronounced ooo-way) and it will lead to favorable outcomes for everyone involved. Learning about this concept will help you move through life with more skill, more grace, and more finesse.

Does that sound awesome? Of course it does. That’s why you should read on.

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What is a Wu-Wei Anyway?

Conscious, goal-oriented attempts to be virtuous will never lead to anything but hypocrisy. – Edward Slingerland, Trying Not to Try

Wu wei is the Chinese concept of “doing by not doing”. It’s a cornerstone of Chinese (even Eastern) thought but it’s a foreign concept to Westerners.

Traditional Western thought focuses on separate parts of the human being. The Eastern approach views mind, body, and even life as one system. Under this mindset, one holistic solution is used to get the most for the least effort (similar to the Pareto Principle).

Enter wu wei. In the state of wu wei, life sort of just “flows”. Events happen at the right time, things are done effortlessly, and unnecessary mental chatter dies down or stops completely. It’s something everyone over a certain age has gotten a taste of but few are able to live fully.

The practice of wu wei and the law of least effort does not involve a massive amount of intellectualization. In Nike’s words, you “just do it”. This has massive implications for everything we do and interact with. Developing this easy-breezy sense of spontaneity involves intention, which seems paradoxical (more on that later).

But first, why are we attracted to things and people that make it seem “so easy”?

Why Effortlessness is So Attractive

In his book Trying Not to Try, Edward Slingerland says that humans developed as interlinked beings in a scarce environment. As such, we needed to be alert to other people who could help us survive. So we gathered together in tribes. And we followed people who seemed to “know what they’re doing”.

Unfortunately, the appearance of skill is easy to create. So in order to counteract fakery or fraud, we developed an internal “bullshit detector” to gauge someone’s level of familiarity with a certain activity. This makes us ever vigilant on the lookout for cues that signal lack of competence. We want to feel safe that our leaders know how to handle things others don’t.

When someone displays this competence, they have a “charismatic” effect on others. This is known as “de” in Chinese thought. De is a “byproduct” of wu wei and can best be described as “right alignment with the universe”. People who have high levels of de are seen to be blessed by the divine due to de’s uncommon nature.

De is powerful because Heaven has made humans, animals, and even the natural world in such a way that they respond instantly and unquestioningly to virtue…de is like a halo that surrounds someone in wu wei and signals to everyone around: ‘Heaven likes me! You should too! I’m okay.’“ – Edward Slingerland, Trying Not to Try

The awe creates a “the halo effect” that gives the person who has the “effect” sway over others.

Think of how people are in awe of athletes and wealthy people. Despite their temperament or morals, people still fawn over them because they have that “halo”. Let’s cross reference this with another work on effortless action, this time from the Western perspective.

“Practice in everything a certain nonchalance that shall conceal design and show that what is done and said is done without effort and almost without thought.” – Baldassare Castiglione, Book of the Courtier

In the Book of the Courtier, Castiglione describes the end point of practice as “sprezzatura”; a type of nonchalance that seems to happen without effort. The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as “studied carelessness”.

Doesn’t that seem like…wu wei?

The Paradox of Effortless Action (and What to Do About It)

Any wu-wei worth having is going to be the product of an unconscious mind that has been guided and shaped by conscious design and instruction. – Edward Slingerland, Trying Not to Try

At this point, it should be evident that the nature of attaining wu wei is paradoxical, even contradictory.

At least, it seems that way from the ordinary state of mind conditioned throughout time (ex: linear thinking).

If you believe that the past and the future is an illusion and the “present” is all there is, wu wei seems to make a lot of sense. You see wu wei as a type of “flow” that emerges spontaneously.

Think back to when you were a kid. Was there a rhyme or reason to why you did things? You shouted and laughed for no seeming reason. Actions seemed to emerge as a spontaneous reaction to the moment. You were in the eternal “now”.

However, as we get older, we start the process of excessive self-monitoring or self-consciousness to “match up” to the rulebook in society. We start to segment our lives and project into the future or fall back into the past.

Instead of being in the moment, we try to calculate how to control the moment.

Does this person like me? Did I say the right thing? How do I look? Am I cool enough?

This creates mental rigidity which makes it impossible to express fluid and spontaneous action.

It’s like a musician who forgets their parts and chokes when they go on stage. They know the parts, they just can’t express them.

In order to overcome this, we need to create a mind that can adapt and respond to the moment with little mental drama.

To do this, we train.

Depending on what school of thought you subscribe to, you’ll see wu-wei as:

1. A human being’s essential nature that has been covered up due to conditioning
2. Something that must be developed in a person due to the fact that no one is “born with it”.

These two schools of thought define Taoism and and Confucianism, respectively – two major philosophies in China.

Either way, there’s going to be some upfront work to be done in the first place and that’s why attaining a state of wu-wei seems to be a bit out of our grasp.

The High Road to Wu Wei and Effortless Action

These two schools of thought are both wrong and right at the same time. Why?

Because wu-wei isn’t a destination, it’s a state.

However you decide to get to that state is up to you. I personally believe wu-wei is achieved by creating habits which then provide a foundation for positive and productive action.

The seed of it is in every human being, but whether it blooms or not is dependent on the actions one takes over their life.

Therefore, the “lead up” to wu-wei has to be practiced. Anyone who is involved in creative endeavors knows that there’s a certain point where “something else” takes over. Scales are effortlessly played. Papers are effortlessly written. Ideas are effortlessly conceptualized.

But before you tap into that? Thousands and thousands and thousands of hours of laborious practice and strain and effort.

After practice, the next issue is getting over the cultural and psychological barriers of wanting control.

Creatives have an easier time getting into this state of wu-wei because creating is process of doing. People in more “analytical” professions may have multiple stopping blocks that prevent them from spontaneity.

Regardless, whoever you may be, we still need an answer to the question:

“How do I practice wu-wei?”

There are no “right” answers to this question. However, there is a small framework that you can use on your own individual path of discovery and exploration.

How to Practice Wu Wei: 7 Actionable Points

By this point, we know that “trying not to try” is a rabbit hole. How deep does it go? No one really knows.

Various people have dived down this rabbit hole and have come back up to tell us what they find.

Here’s some of their “responses” to the question of how to achieve wu-wei.

Step 1: What do you want?

There are many people who are aimless in life. And they are aimless because they never asked the question

“what do I want to do in this one short life I have?”

The more this goes unanswered, the lesser chance you have of achieving the state of effortless action.

If there is no goal to aim for, then the proper system to achieve that goal cannot be constructed.

So that’s first. Get clear.

If you need help on setting long-term and short-term goals check out Short-Term vs. Long-Term Goals: How to Set and Achieve Them.

Step 2: Practice competence

“Without the guidance of the mind, the body would be unable to develop in the right direction, in the same way that troops without a leader would just mill about aimlessly or rush confusedly into battle.” – Edward Slingerland, Trying Not to Try

Next, you have to “practice” effortlessness. You need to repeat a state, a routine, a set of behaviors so many time that they run on autopilot. This is due to the magic of neuroplasticity.

You only get good at guitar by playing it.

You only get good at meditation by doing it.

You only get what you practice. Make sure you’re practicing well.

Step 3: Minimum effective dose

The “minimum effective dose” is a philosophy in medicine of getting the biggest effect from the dosage of a larger whole. This is the meaning behind the phrase “work smarter, not harder”. Any action you do also has a “minimum effective dose”. This is key to wu-wei.

Your goal is to find out what that tipping point is, then do it up till then. If you then consciously decide to do more, you can.

But knowing when to stop and “call it a day“ is key to utilizing wu-wei properly.

After all, if the tree has already been logged, what are you still cutting for?

This is something I go into in-depth in the Productivity module of Cornerstone.

Step 4: Consistent steps in the right direction

Just like Rome wasn’t built in a day, effortless mastery isn’t build in a short period of time either.

You need to take small and deliberate steps in the direction of your goals. This is how you build up a habitual rhythm and develop wu-wei.

Always look for some way to make progress in an area every day. Think of the slight edge.

Step 5: Adjust as necessary

Over time, as you develop expertise in a specific domain, you start to be able to distinguish quality from garbage. This goes in turn with your own actions. The surest sign that you know you’re getting better is that you’re able to spot your own weaknesses and correct.

As you get better, you start to be able to “step outside” yourself and monitor your performance. This is the hallmark of someone who has achieved a high level of skill and is key for the development of wu-wei.

Step 6: Live for the moment

A major part of wu-wei is living in the present moment. As mentioned before, this is very difficult for many people for various reasons. Regardless, you can not perform effortless action if your mind is somewhere else.

In fact, the default state of many people today is to have their mind elsewhere while they perform tasks.

How can you know if you’re “here” or “over there”? Here’s a brief clue:

If you’re “here”, you’re fully embodied and grounded. You feel like you’re taking up space.

If you’re “over there”, you are sort of “hallucinating“. You kinda, sorta remember that last conversation you had with so and so and that you need to go to the store after work…Sorry, can you repeat that last sentence?

It’s an experiential feeling.

When you’re in a state of wu-wei (presence), action takes care of itself. You know what needs to be done. And it is done.

Step 7: Develop outcome independence

This is the final and most important point: do not be overly attached to the results. Whatever happens from an honest effort, is what happens. You can influence it, but you have no real “say”.

Here’s a rule:

You are owed the work of a result, not the result itself.

In a certain mode of being, this can seem “unfair”. “I worked hard, so I deserve the result!”, some people say. Sure, caring about receiving benefit from hours put in is justified. But who’s to say that benefit will come in the form you want it?

Many people think of “results” as “instantly gratified desires” but someone who seeks and maintains a state of wu-wei never sees it like that.

Instead, he sees it as just another building block. And when he does get that “instantly gratified desire” (the money, the fame, the women, etc.), it will just be another building block to him. He values the rewards, just not too much.

Key mindset shift: do things for the love of the process itself.

Conclusion + Wrapping Up

What the Chinese call “wu-wei”, we call “flow” in the West. It is a state of relaxed and alert receptivity to whatever is required at that moment.

You would think this state would be common, but due to the requirements of civilization with its rules and all; acting spontaneously is difficult for many people.

This is due to many years of conditioning that allow us to live more or less well in society. The side effect of this is mental rigidity and an appearance of self-consciousness.

Someone who does not act self-conscious, or “buttoned up“ is seen to be blessed by heaven due to how rare that state of being is. This is called ”de“, which is a side effect of being in a state of wu-wei.

There are many different ways to get into a state of wu-wei, but some overarching ones are getting clarity on what you want, practicing becoming proficient at it, and deciding to stay present.

By doing that, you will unlock wu-wei in your own life and the benefits it has to offer.

Have you know about this concept of wu-wei before? If so, how have you applied it in your own life? Let us know in the comments.