Why doesn't the LM7805 circuit short circuit?

I'm new to electronics and have made some simple projects using a LM7805. I'm using the following schematics:

Here is the date sheet of LM7805: http://www.componentschip.com/details/ST...

I don't understand why this circuit works. Why doesn't it short circuit? I thought electricity always takes the "easiest" path which in my opinion would be the following:

Why does the electricity even bother going through the 7805 to begin with while it can just fill up the 0.33uf capacitor and then go right through it back to the battery?