This year’s annual Systems Thinking in Action Conference explored both the promise and the reality of the learning organization through the theme, “Learning Organizations in Practice: The Art of the Possible.” Each of the keynote speakers provided a different perspective on the process of. Understanding Structure and CreativeTension Structure: The Power and the Beauty by Robert Fritz The underlying structure of anything determines its behavior. This is a principle of structural dynamics, which is the study of how and why structure has the impact it does on individuals, relationships, teams, organizations, and so much of our world.
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A revolutionary program for creating anything, from a functional kitchen to a computer program, to a work of art, Robert Fritz demonstrates that any of us has the innate power to create. Discover the steps of creating; the importance of creating what you truly love, how to focus on the creative process to move from where you are to where you want to be, and much more.
Published April 22nd 1989 by Ballantine Books (first published January 1st 1984)
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What I liked:
1. A very simple and most overlooked quality of nature. She will flow where there is least resistance. Good or bad is another story. In the path that offers least resistance she will flow. How liberating!
2. Mr. Fritz argues that everything that we do conventionally to resolve a problem is nothing but band-aid to a bullet wound. It will work temporarily but since the basic foundation is not cognizant of or aligned towards your goal, natural energy will revert to what is easy and t...more
1. A very simple and most overlooked quality of nature. She will flow where there is least resistance. Good or bad is another story. In the path that offers least resistance she will flow. How liberating!
2. Mr. Fritz argues that everything that we do conventionally to resolve a problem is nothing but band-aid to a bullet wound. It will work temporarily but since the basic foundation is not cognizant of or aligned towards your goal, natural energy will revert to what is easy and t...more
Feb 27, 2008Steve rated it really liked it
This is a tricky challenging read, no doubt about it. The author started out wondering how artists could bring such joy, thought and originality to their arts, but often struggled so much with routine life. One of his discoveries is that more of life should be approached as creation, rather than as problem-solving. The author notes that problem-solving is futile because the focus is put on reducing the effects of a problem rather than creating a new method that may solve the problem. My summary...more
I've read more than my fair share of book in the genres of self-help, psychology, personal growth, spiritual insight, etc. This one is absolutely on my short list of one of the absolute best ever. I just finished and I never, ever read books twice. This one I've already decided is so dense and full of useful, practical, applicable, insightful wisdom - I'm going to read it again.
Bumps off the whole notion of problem solving as a degenerative spiral and energy suck. Solve a problem and what you GET is 'no more problem.' What about what you WANT? Integrates appreciative inquiry into the business of creating what you want in life and work.. Good stuff
Oct 12, 2017Michael rated it liked it
I think it is possible that he has some good ideas in here about creativity, and changing your environment in order to change your behaviors, but his thinking process seems to be a bit naïve and illogical to me. He seems to blame certain changes in society on how we prioritize our choices, but these changes have existed in history without those effects, and a lot of things he correlates don't really seem related to me. Also, I agree that we often have counter-forces that push against us when we...more
Jul 11, 2009Nicholas rated it did not like it
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Jul 04, 2008Crystal Hammon rated it really liked it
There’s nothing I love more than a great self-help book, but this is self-help with a twist that gives the book greater significance. It’s the closest look at creativity, what blocks it and what feeds it, that you may ever read. Although it’s great for creative types or people who just want more out of life, it’s also a practical study for managers and leaders who want to create change in their organizations. Fritz carefully describes the space in which creative people live (read: effective peop...more
Jan 22, 2019Adrian Craciun rated it really liked it
I have mixed feeling about this book after reading it. Some really deep and thoughtful ideas are combined with some esoteric bullshit. A worthy read if you can filter the crap.
Top 5 reads ever
“The greatest leaders and statesmen in history have not been problem solvers. They have been builders. They have been creators.”
“When you create, power is not situational. That is to say, your power to create does not come from the circumstances, but from yourself.”
“There’s nothing capricious in nature, and the implanting of a desire indicates that its gratification is in the constitution of the creature that feels it.”
~ Robert Fritz from The Path of Least Resistance
The theme of Robert Fritz’...more
“When you create, power is not situational. That is to say, your power to create does not come from the circumstances, but from yourself.”
“There’s nothing capricious in nature, and the implanting of a desire indicates that its gratification is in the constitution of the creature that feels it.”
~ Robert Fritz from The Path of Least Resistance
The theme of Robert Fritz’...more
I enjoyed this book on several levels. Firstly, author Fritz writes as a 'creative' who thinks that the creative process is a skill that can be learned, and sets about teaching it in (to me) a novel way. The emphasis of the writing is on a change in mindset in how to approach just about anything to which one wants to apply the creative process, including things like determining one's career path, solving a relationship conundrum, or addressing a business problem - or, for that matter, creating a...more
Dec 01, 2017Tedra rated it really liked it Shelves: self-help-personal-growth, creativity, read-in-2017
The concept of this book is quite simple, yet profoundly challenging in that most of us just don't realize how much power and control we have in the creation of our own lives. Fortunately, the author describes in great detail how to acknowledge, address and transcend the perpetual everyday roadblocks that humans experience in trying to become our best selves. This book is a very deep read, but so necessary to experience. It is one that I will find myself revisiting again and again. Highly recomm...more
Aug 18, 2018Shamoil rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
The most profound book I have read till now.
I have read so many other books on psychology and all but was never able to get a hold of them as all were reactive-responsive approach. I have this book opens up a new vision in me that I choose to be the predominant creative force in my life.
Jan 07, 2008elizabeth kimmel rated it it was amazingI have read so many other books on psychology and all but was never able to get a hold of them as all were reactive-responsive approach. I have this book opens up a new vision in me that I choose to be the predominant creative force in my life.
Recommended to elizabeth by: a random pull from a used book store in boulder, co.
A guiding light illuminating some of the deeper questions for my unconventional mindset.
Jun 16, 2019fewpagesmore rated it it was ok
With both books and people, I like when they come to the point already. If you can get your point across simply, quickly and accurately, that would be a worthwhile skill to have. Unfortunately this book is missing that skill.
This book is about creativity, and how it can be develop by using natural laws similar to that of physics. Bodies always take the path of least resistance in achieving a task. And supposedly the author has a magic key to finding this path. I was taken in by the very interest...more
This book is about creativity, and how it can be develop by using natural laws similar to that of physics. Bodies always take the path of least resistance in achieving a task. And supposedly the author has a magic key to finding this path. I was taken in by the very interest...more
Jul 07, 2017Selene rated it really liked it
I heard of this book through another book that I am reading for my summer professional development, TED (The Empowerment Dynamic).
This is a worthwhile read for just about everyone. It's not your typical self-help book. The discussion about how most people operate in a reactive-responsive mode (rather than the creative mode the author promotes in the book) is very enlightening. The book got a little long-winded towards the end, and some of the examples might be considered dated by some, but overa...more
This is a worthwhile read for just about everyone. It's not your typical self-help book. The discussion about how most people operate in a reactive-responsive mode (rather than the creative mode the author promotes in the book) is very enlightening. The book got a little long-winded towards the end, and some of the examples might be considered dated by some, but overa...more
I remember zero about this book 10 years later, so take from that what you will.
I wrote a little blurb about it back in 2008 and said: I'm not sure I buy the philosophy 100 percent, but it did have several points that really resonated with me. He talks about reacting out of fear of what you don't want to happen vs. acting to create what you do want. He talks about how in order to create, you have to really know what you want to create AND you have to fearlessly and honestly assess the current re...more
I wrote a little blurb about it back in 2008 and said: I'm not sure I buy the philosophy 100 percent, but it did have several points that really resonated with me. He talks about reacting out of fear of what you don't want to happen vs. acting to create what you do want. He talks about how in order to create, you have to really know what you want to create AND you have to fearlessly and honestly assess the current re...more
This book is a very dry and boring read and is just not well written overall. It's also pretty out of date, but I guess interesting to read about when personal computers were just being invented. If the book was better written and arranged, it might be better, the content was somewhat helpful but it was a slog to get through. I quit most books that don't flow well and peak my interest, but I kept at this hoping to get some more insight into the creative process. Overall, I got a few pointers but...more
I appreciated the general idea within the book about the power of creativity and ideas in an individual's life, as well as biblical references, but felt the book could be structured better. It also remained unclear to me what the process was for taking on this philosophy, and some concepts were over explained, taking pages or even chapters when a few sentences would have sufficed.
Jun 18, 2018Pablitomix Online rated it it was amazing
Jan 20, 2019Gearóid O'Connor rated it really liked it
Mar 19, 2013Dave Burns rated it liked it
I am a sucker for books like this. He is promising to rock my world, show me how to change the structures in my life so I can create something wonderful. Structures are desires, beliefs, and objective reality. People take the path of least resistance, which is determined by the relevant structures. Some structures lead to oscillation - progress then regress, ad infinitum. Other structures lead to a destination. Sounds like crap. Charming, but crap. We will see! Hmmm... I think I will read some r...more
The Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life (1984), Robert Fritz
You are the essence of creation, because without you creation is impossible. -Robert Fritz
The Path of Least Resistance is an excellent book and I highly recommend it to all audiences. Robert Fritz takes readers on a specific path of understanding creativity as it relates to our person. Starting with fundamentals, Fritz sheds light on concepts that for the basis of self-awareness within the ov...more
You are the essence of creation, because without you creation is impossible. -Robert Fritz
The Path of Least Resistance is an excellent book and I highly recommend it to all audiences. Robert Fritz takes readers on a specific path of understanding creativity as it relates to our person. Starting with fundamentals, Fritz sheds light on concepts that for the basis of self-awareness within the ov...more
Oct 14, 2016Kony rated it really liked it · review of another edition
This book provides an elegant lens for reframing frustrations and opportunities. Fritz urges you to be an active creator of your life, rather than a reactor to circumstances. He cleverly explains why many of us get stuck in oscillating patterns of trying to suppress realities we don't want, which distracts from the creative work of bringing about realities we want.
On the minus side, he often waxes cranky and/or prophetic, rambling about social developments that irritate or excite him.
On balanc...more
On the minus side, he often waxes cranky and/or prophetic, rambling about social developments that irritate or excite him.
On balanc...more
Quite wordy, but ridiculously insightful. A great read for creative 'types' - although when it comes down to it, we're all creative because it's a human instinct to create.
The end goal the author wants you to reach is to get what you truly want. It's just a wildly different approach from traditional 'self-help' books. There are core structures at play in our lives and most of the time they lead to highs and lows ( oscillation- as the author explains ) and in the end, it's an inefficient and unf...more
Mar 30, 2008Douglas Knupp rated it it was amazingThe end goal the author wants you to reach is to get what you truly want. It's just a wildly different approach from traditional 'self-help' books. There are core structures at play in our lives and most of the time they lead to highs and lows ( oscillation- as the author explains ) and in the end, it's an inefficient and unf...more
Recommends it for: Anyone who wishes to understand the structure of energy, perception and creation
Shelves: psychology, structural_learning
We as humans live in a world made of energy. THere are structures to this energy in how we Think-Have Emotions-Take Action-Produce results. We tend to get stuck in certain ways of being, Identities, based in one of the four processes of energy Thinking-Emotion-Action-Results. We tend to oscillate within one process of the the other like a endless loop. This Loop has structure. Our way of perceiving is the leverage which can free us from this cycle. We create the structure and we can free ourslev...more
This is one of the most difficult books that I have ever read, I found the book to be clinically written and that made it difficult for me to follow. No matter how slowly I read this book I just could not get into it, at times I wanted to just put it away and never finish it, but I did finish it. I was living in Reno, NV at the time and a young woman at the book store recommended this book for me, I was looking for a book to read about your self and accepting what you are; it did help me but it...more
I am not sure if the author is basing this on his own life and only the people he sees, because I feel like he has a very narrow point of view of what humans can be.
When I read about the orientation (creative vs reactive-responsive) part, I was like... seriously? Sounds very arbitrary to separate people into two arbitrary almost astrological-like hokey pokey categories.
I will keep reading though, to see if, what I think is hokey pokey/unscientific/unlogical, at least have some consistency.
When I read about the orientation (creative vs reactive-responsive) part, I was like... seriously? Sounds very arbitrary to separate people into two arbitrary almost astrological-like hokey pokey categories.
I will keep reading though, to see if, what I think is hokey pokey/unscientific/unlogical, at least have some consistency.
My copy is only 285 pages long and (other than a little far-out-ness in the final chapter) is a book that I think should be on everyone's list. The fundamental change from reactive-response to creative is something I would wish on anyone. This is this book that will show you how. It's not an easy read though. These are things you need to think about and keep pressing ahead. Absorb this information and it will click at some point, maybe not right away, but when it does, you'll gasp.
Great book on how the structure of our lives versus our goals and ambitions really shapes how our lives and creations grow. Talks about treating your life as a creation, not just the things you make. Interesting perspective on how to change things around your life to guide you in the way you want to go as opposed to picking a goal and changing things to pursue the goal.
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