You Can Do It!
Did you ever have that feeling that you’re supposed to be doing something else? Was it a dream that you wanted but didn’t pursue it? What’s holding you back? Is it procrastination? Is it fear? Is it the feeling of rejection?
Is resistance holding you back?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, chances are you’re in the same boat as everyone else. Resistance is when we try to break away from an old habit, but a force engulfs us with the words “I can’t.” The force acts as the unseen. It cannot be seen, touched, or heard but rather internally felt.
Whenever we put our energy into an achievement, this force acts as a negative to repel us, distract us, and prevent us from achieving that goal. You are your greatest enemy because resistance is self-generated and will stop any dream dead in its tracks.
Some Examples of Resistance:
- With the New Year, you had the resolution to start working out. The idea was there but never followed through.
- You want to start a new healthy way of eating tomorrow, but you tell yourself, for now, I will have this last slice of pizza.
- You want to introduce yourself to a girl/guy, but Resistance tells you that you’ll be rejected and never do.
My Experience
I personally had Resistance to starting this blog. I would sit down with the idea of starting it but kept pushing it off. Resistance hid in the form of procrastination. Resistance kicks in when we seek to pursue a calling, dream, or business idea or evolve to a higher state (morally, spiritually, ethically).
Luckily there are ways to stop resistance and win the internal battle. What makes resistance so powerful? It’s fear… Fear is the juice that brings resistance to life; the more power you feed it, the more apparent it becomes.
Understanding fear
Biologically, we have been programmed to feel rejection and fear in our gut. This is how we have learned our whole life what to do. If you do something wrong in school, you know what the teacher will say, it’s that gut feeling, so you run away from the fear. Fear paralyzes us and prevents us from doing our work. Taking the fear takes a tremendous character, but it’s not impossible. Once we master our fear, we conquer Resistance.
Sometimes, resistance kicks in when we feel our calling. Instead of fighting, it uses that fear as a guide. Fear does cause self-doubt, but in return, it can be a self-indicator of something we must do. Navigate the resistance, like a compass, by letting it guide you to the true calling. Resistance will also show you the love you have for that dream, calling, project, etc. Resistance is equally opposed to the amount of love. The more you love, the more resistance you will have to push through.
The rule of thumb is to focus on the gratification you will feel when you finally follow through! In other words, if you want to quit your job and start a business, do it! Follow through if that’s what you love and it’s super important to you. You will feel resistance. Use it as your compass to point you in the right direction and overcome your fear and hesitation.
Remember, nothing will be easy; you have to put in the work just like anything else. When they say no pain, no gain, they mean it. If it’s your gym goal, instead of focusing on being sore, focus on the change of becoming the better version of yourself. Turn the bad feelings into positive thoughts for the greater outcome. When I sat down and wrote this post, I had those thoughts of doing something else, like being out with my friends, but I zoned out those thoughts and put in the work, no pain, no gain, right?
Ego is something that we think of ourselves as “I.”
Our conscious part of intelligence deals with everyday tasks of planning and thinking. The Self is unconscious; it is where our dreams and intuition come from. Resistance has its seat in the Ego; as the Self-wants to evolve, the Ego likes the way things are. It is the ego that can be considered our subconscious materialism associated with everyday life.
The ego thinks if we buy a bigger house, a nicer car, and get the newest gadget, it will bring us happiness. But what happens after we get the latest gadget? We always crave something else. Unfortunately, these things only spike a small amount of emotional well-being.
Self, on the other hand, is our most profound being. Do you sometimes wonder why people get hammered, drunk, or plastered? It causes the Ego to overtake the Self. This is a toxic behavior that doesn’t help beat any resistance. It is why people meditate or go on fasting prayers in religions; we access our Self. The Self is the Divine ground in the image, infinite and ever-evolving.
Ego hates this because it doesn’t want to evolve. It wants to stay the same. The more selfless we become, the less we need the Ego, “less materialism.” This is why the Ego calls in resistance, it doesn’t want change, and whenever we feel the calling from the Self, there is always the opposite thinking.
Closing Thoughts
It comes down to this: it doesn’t matter if you are chasing your dreams, wanting to open a business, or just being successful in art. If you’re going to tap into the top-notch version of yourself, then you need to embrace the fear. Use it to your advantage and do the work in spite of it. In order to push against resistance, we need to sit down and put in the work with the proper mindset.