By Michael Ashcroft | 5 min read
Most people put too much effort into everything they do. Here’s a good example from Kristijan around tension in his hands when touching and holding things:
Something clicked about inhibition and non-doing (in Alexander Technique), and the strongest effect has been a relaxation of my hands.
Like I was touching and holding things with 40% more tension than required for that object or activity.@m_ashcroft any thoughts? — Kristijan (@kristijan_moves) August 20, 2025
It’s a great example, because gripping too tightly, as we might with the hands, is a great metaphor for what it’s like everywhere else in your system. There’s a pattern of pervasive over-gripping that, once you start to look for it, you will find everywhere.
There is an appropriate amount of energy required for each activity. Holding a cup, turning a steering wheel, or writing a blog post all need exactly the amount of energy that they need. This may sound like a truism, but if it were so obvious, why do many drivers often realise they are driving with a vice-like grip, with tension running up into their shoulders and jaws?
Let me share my slightly unusual definition of “effort”: it’s the felt experience of expending energy beyond what an activity requires, like tensing your brow when you try to understand something, or the excess tension in your hand when you hold your phone .
Using this definition, it’s clear that the appropriate amount of effort for any activity is zero.
This idea is where the concept of non-doing can trip people up, because it doesn’t mean no action. It means no effort, even though the amount of energy required could be large. Or, to borrow from Daoist wisdom:
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