How to Fight Resistance

stopwatch-600x275If you are like me, you live two lives at the same time.  There is the life that we live each day, and an an “unlived” life, of sorts, inside our head.

As Steven Pressfield describes in his book,  “The War of Art”, between these two lives of ours there is Resistance:

Have you ever brought home a treadmill and let it gather dust in the attic? Ever resolved on a diet, a course of yoga, a meditation practice? Have you ever felt a call to embark upon a spiritual practice, dedicate yourself to a humanitarian calling, commit your life to the service of others? Have you ever wanted to be a mother, a doctor, an advocate for the weak and helpless; to run for office, crusade for the planet, campaign for world peace or to preserve the environment? Late at night have you experienced a vision of the person you might become, the work you could accomplish, the realized being you were meant to be? Are you a writer who doesn’t write, a painter who doesn’t paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what Resistance is.

Resistance is a powerful force inside of us.  It keeps us from living the life we want; giving us reasons to not achieve our dreams and conquer our demons.  Resistance prevents us from taking action.  It is a deadly force.

When does Resistance rear it’s head?

Here are activities that will elicit resistance inside us:

  • Pursuit of a craft or an art (in my case trombone)
  • Starting a business
  • A diet
  • A new exercise regimen
  • Quitting something (alcohol, tobacco)
  • Learning something new
  • Any type of meaningful change in ourself (financial, political, spiritual, etc.)
  • Taking a leadership role in any endeavor

Basically, any activity that involves long-term growth and effort can (and will) elicit Resistance inside us.

Procrastination is the most common form of Resistance, but not the only form.  “I’ll do it tomorrow”, while a simple statement, collectively paid attention to over time has the power to destroy our dreams.  If we are not careful, something we put off till tomorrow can turn out to be something we put off until we die (after all, we don’t know when that will be, do we?).

What’s the answer?

I am a huge victim of Resistance.  I have lived with it all my life.  I don’t have the answers, but I am battling every day with trying to figure it out.

What I do know is this:

You may not feel like doing work that matters today, but right now…this second…you should sit down and do the work you know needs to be done.  Dive in.   You may not solve all the world’s problems in one sitting, and you may not create your best stuff ever today, at least.  All that matters is that you put your time in with all your might.

For today, you will have kicked Resistance’s ass.  Now try again tomorrow.

Carnivals I was featured in last week:

Carnival of MoneyPros at Money Pros
Yakezie Carnival at The Frugal Toad
Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at Making Sense of Cents
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at 20s Finances
Carnival of Retirement at Midlife Finance
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at Fat Guy,Skinny Wallet
Yakezie Carnival at Growing Money Smart
Carnival of MoneyPros at Thirty Six Months
Carnival of Retirement at Brick By Brick Investing

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