Resistance is that unseen force that derails our best intentions. It keeps us from doing things we know are important. Resistance comes in a variety of forms, like forgetfulness, over-sleeping and scheduling something over an existing commitment.
My Struggle with Resistance
My personal favorite form of resistance is napping. When I’ve made a commitment to do something where I have mixed feelings about the activity or result, I find that I’m irresistibly drawn to my room for a nap.
For example, I committed to finishing my final edits to chapters 1 through 5 of our upcoming book by Saturday night. So, Saturday around noon, one of my cat’s approached me with a look in his eyes that clearly said, “You know you want to lay down, cuddle with me and take a nap.” Next thing I knew, I’d scooped him up and was headed for my room. I knew I had to get that work done, but I took a nap instead. What’s up with that?
How to Overcome Resistance
Just in case I’m not the only one who struggles with resistance, here are some ideas for overcoming it:
Challenge your thinking
If we understand what’s behind the resistance, we might be able to talk ourselves through it. Feelings come from thoughts and if we’re feeling conflicted about something, we should examine our thoughts behind the feelings. For example, I sometimes find myself thinking, “No one’s going to like our book. We’ll look dumb.” In reality, though, we’ve gotten great responses to our book so far. When I read through it, it looks really good. Those other thoughts are wrong. When I believe–and I mean really believe–the work is worthwhile, it’ll be easier to get it done.
Become accountable
If I hadn’t told my mastermind group that I was going to get those chapters done, they’d still be sitting there unedited. I finished them a day late, though. If I do that again, I think I’ll set up more accountability. I could, for example, tell them I’ll text them my progress each night. Accountability is a great tool because it’s possible to increase it when necessary to win the resistance battle.
Just get started
The hardest part about getting started is getting started. If I have to get something done, but I’m not really wanting to do it, I’ve found it’s easier if I just start with a little bit. So I make a deal with myself, “OK, I’ll just work at it for 15 minutes.” Usually, after I’ve started, I really do want to keep going.
Next time you’re fighting some resistance–whether it’s something for your calling or your health or finances or whatever–just DON’T GIVE UP! You can’t lose the fight if you don’t give up.
