I love the image of the flower breaking through the dry, cracked earth, above. We can bloom right where we are, despite all of the forces trying to keep us down, both real and imagined. What keeps so many of us from doing what we want to do? Why do we get so stuck? Why, despite our best intentions for the day, does our most important goal not get met?

I’m not lazy. I don’t think I have ADD. So what is it? Thanks to a book I have recently read, I think I have the word for it. Resistance. And intention is no match for it, only will and work. In his book, The War of Art, Steven Pressfield says, “Resistance can not be seen or touched, heard or smelled. But it can be felt. We experience it as an energy field. It’s a repelling force. It’s negative. It’s aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work.”

Resistance steals our joy, keeps us from making progress, sabotages our goals. Whether our goals are health related or the progress we are trying to make is toward something else, like following a divine calling,resistance prevents us from doing what we are meant to do and being who we are meant to be. In Pressfield’s words, “Resistance prevents us from achieving the life God intended when He endowed each of us with our own unique genius.”

Most of us struggle with this everyday without realizing it. I struggle with it. My clients struggle with it as they try to change their lifestyles. But we don’t know why we are struggling so much. Why we can’t seem to make the big breakthrough. I couldn’t name it before, but I am convinced it is called resistance.

Resistance is the enemy within. Resistance is self-sabotage.

Which activities most commonly elicit resistance? Pressfield describes them as any activities which reject immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health or integrity. Also, any act which comes from our higher self instead of our lower. He goes on to list specifics, such as the pursuit of any creative calling, the launching of any entrepreneurial venture, any program of spiritual advancement, and of course any diet or health regimen!

“The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.”

The amount of resistance you feel is proportional to the importance of your goal and how much it means to you. If it meant nothing to you, there would be no resistance! So on a positive note, the more gratification you will receive when you accomplish it!

The most common manifestation of resistance is, you guessed it! Resistance’s BFF, Procrastination.

I think I’ll just start tomorrow…
This is a trap and resistance’s greatest weapon, because procrastination becomes a habit and tomorrow sometimes never comes. I know this because I fight this battle every day. I am convinced to the core that I am the worst procrastinator that ever lived. The fact that I am sitting here writing this blog post is a force of sheer will and determination (after much procrastination). I don’t want resistance to win.

Maybe we are procrastinating doing good things, worthy things, or just things that need to be done (like laundry and the dishes) but if they are not part of that call deep within us, they are resistance. The laundry and dishes will still be there after the important work of the day is done. (Plus, if you put them off, maybe someone else will do them! Maybe?)

There is no mystery to fighting resistance. It’s an act of will. We make up our minds and we proceed. Every day. Every day we must be prepared to confront our own self sabotage. This is true in the pursuit of our callings and it is true in the pursuit of good daily lifestyle habits.

Everyone will find their own path to conquering resistance, but here are some things I find helpful personally and some things I have borrowed from Pressfield.
•Set a time everyday during which you work toward accomplishing your goal. Prioritize it and make sure you take at least one focused step, every single day toward it.
•Focus on the work and its demands to the exclusion of all else, while you are doing it. No multi-tasking.
•Don’t be over ambitious. Take manageable steps. You’re in it for the long haul and you don’t want to burn out!
•Share your goals/work/dream with someone who will help inspire you and keep you accountable.
•Be organized. Eliminate chaos from your world and mind. (This, obviously borrowed from Pressfield!)
•Make no excuses.
•Ask for help when needed.

So, I’m going to wrap it up here, but if you struggle with resistance, I highly recommend The War of Art, as it goes much more in depth into this topic. It speaks mostly to creative ventures, but could be applied to anything in life. Plus, it packs a whole lot of inspiration in just a little time. I read it in under 2 hours and I’m a SLOW reader. Gotta love that!

Live Nourished,
Heather