How to Enjoy and Honor Your Resistance

Do you ever have one of those days where you just cannot keep your head on straight? Everything is distracting you from what you need to do? Negative thoughts cloud your judgment? Insecurity and fear creep in and set up an unwelcome stake on all your best intentions?

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes just try to push through these times…barreling through with my to-do list, checking things off. But the problem is I’m not really productive. Anything on my to-do list that requires thinking or problem-solving just doesn’t get done very effectively. I feel the heaviness of struggle nearly choking me and my ability to make an effective decision diminished greatly.

Life is a series of moments. Some moments are easy and fluid. Others are more challenging and laced with resistance. It’s easy to forget that timing is everything. And that both types of moments are equally beneficial and needed to sustain balance. When life is “easy,” we don’t pay much attention. We think that’s how things are always supposed to be. It’s generally when challenge surfaces that we take note.

What I do to honor my resistance:

• Step away. I naturally find myself taking more breaks when I’m resisting what I need to do. Distractions are harder to ignore. The beautiful breeze skates across my skin and I look up and gaze dreamily out the window. The music in the background beckons me to shake my booty and I get my boogie on for a few minutes. The lunch break where I vow to just read one chapter in a good book turns into a reading marathon and before I know it a couple hours have passed. When you find yourself pulled to do something, just do it. Allow the distraction to be your guide and teacher. Maybe it’s just the universe’s way of telling you that you need a break. That your spirit needs some attention because your mind has been getting it all lately.
• Write it out. Another thing I find myself doing when the voices in my mind quarrel over what needs to be done vs. what I want to do is to just write about it. Journaling is a great way to just let those voices be heard. I typically ask myself a question, such as “what’s going on for me right now,” which leads to a bunch of writing, which leads to another questions, which leads to more writing, and so on. I always find some good insights in doing this free-flow journaling. It’s my minds way of working something out without just sitting and trying to think it through on its own.
• Talk it out. Sometimes talking to a supportive friend or colleague can help put things in perspective. When we ruminate in our thoughts, its hard to get out of that by thinking more about it. Talking to someone else allows us to get our thoughts out in another form (words) and lets someone else to put their two cents in. typically others can see a different point of view and even the smallest observation or comment on their part can help shift us into knowing what to do next.
• Do something. When we are resistant, we’re focused on our thoughts. What should I do? What shouldn’t I do? This is too hard, or boring, or stupid, or…” You get the picture. What we tend to do when we are stuck in thoughts is forget that we have a body and it may need some attention. Get up and move around. Go outside. Clean the dishes. Do something physical. Allow your body to take over. Do a task that doesn’t require much thinking other than – DO THIS, then DO THIS NEXT.

The biggest thing to remember during times of resistance is that it is normal. When we try to fight our resistance, it rarely ends up the way we like. So, give yourself a break. Honor the resistance. And then see what happens…