Motivation Monday | Take the path of greatest resistance.

Usually, when an idea or a reminder pops into my mind.  I notice something else shows up at around the exact same time.  This secondary "thing" that accompanies my inspiration shall be called resistance.  Sometimes my resistance is mild (like when I say to myself that I'll do something later), sometimes great (taking the exact action of what I know I should do).  I can tell it's an active force in my daily life.

What's worse, I think I may have given it more power over time simply by giving into the power of resistance over and over again.  A small example of resistance occurs whenever I'm working on a task.  My mind brings up other things I should be doing at that time (resisting completing what is in front of me).  Suddenly, I'm distracted and doing something else.  Resistance shows up again and soon, I've got a myriad of unfinished tasks and I haven't gotten anything accomplished.  Other times, I become aware of an action I know I should do to move my business forward, and instead, I resist by using my time to do something else that's way less important.

Last week I became intensely aware of how much of a pattern resistance has become in my life.  How do I know? Because there are a myriad of things I say I want to do (or I know I should do), that I have not done.  Something is stopping me.

Then I got to thinking.  What if I created a new pattern where I challenge myself to overcome a form of resistance at least 10 or more times a day?  You see, resistance isn't real. There's actually nothing (ABSOLUTELY NOTHING) stopping me from doing what I say I want to do. There is only feeling that pops up, or a reason I create, or an excuse I utilize.  But those things aren't real. They are a figment of my imagination.  So, in reality, I could simply move forward despite the reason, excuse or feeling.  Therefore I would no longer be granting power to my feelings.  I would take the path of greatest resistance.

I sat for a few moments to contemplate why I should even bother moving towards resistance instead of moving away from it.  Simple.  Because where there is resistance, there is something to be had.  On the other side of resistance, there is always a reward. The reward might be physical, mental or emotional. But rest assured, it is there.  The greater the resistance you overcome, the greater the reward.  And, on the opposite spectrum, each time we succumb to resistance, we lose a little piece of our greatness.  I'm comforted in the fact that I can easily reclaim my greatness each time I choose to step forward in the face of resistance.

When you think about overcoming resistance, I like you to think first about the small things.  Remember even the largest buildings in the world are made up of tiny atoms.  I am of the mindset that resistance can only be defeated when we do the very smallest things we resist first.  And when you've done something small, relish in the fact that you've done it. See yourself as a hero.  Do it many times a day.  Soon your natural way of being becomes someone who is unstoppable.  Meaning, the things that may appear as an obstacle loses its power.  The voice of resistance quiets and you can easily take bigger, bolder steps without thinking twice.

I want to practice this so much that I become a master of creating based on my word.  When I say I will do something, I know it will be done.  No more having to second guess myself & hiding from it by resisting.  Instead, I will move towards the reward each day.  A great read on this topic is Steven Pressfield's the War of Art.  He talks about resistance from a writer's perspective.   He does a great job of identifying resistance and the destruction it can cause in our lives if we continue to let it overtake us.