Move TOWARDS Your Resistance

Thomas Edison, American Inventor, said, "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

As humans, we seem to have an almost biological drive towards the path of least resistance. Chalk it up to days when food was scarce and the number of predators were high; if we could conserve energy and make it through the day, we'd do so every single time.

We have a lot of good instincts when it comes to self-preservation. Pain is a hard reminder that something is wrong, or we shouldn't try something again. The "fight or flight" response is always there to spark us into action when we feel our lives are threatened. But at times, it's best (and even necessary) to overcome our natural responses.

Usually when you contemplate a task - be it getting to the gym, calling a client with bad news, or avoiding that second piece of holiday pie - your mind does a quick cost/benefit analysis of the idea. The problem is, our brains usually look at the immediate short-term cost without an adequate assessment of the long-term gains. Or, our brain pushes the short term pleasure (sitting here) versus the projected costs (wind sprints on the treadmill). Pie is delicious. Watching people eat pie is no fun.

Here is a useful exercise to do to try and overcome "the short and easy path". It's called "Move Toward Your Resistance." It goes like this: Every time you think of something you should do, and your brain triggers that lazy little "I'd rather not" response, you immediately tackle some aspect of the task at hand. In other words, when you'd rather not do something, recognize it as something you must do and coax yourself to do it.

Here's the thing: I always feel better AFTER moving towards my resistance. The "good feeling" you desire FOLLOWS the action. By doing so, I break the loop of "I should do this/I'll do it later/I wish this was done/I'll do it later." And if you always wait for the good feeling to happen before you move towards your resistance, then you will NEVER move towards your resistance. This behavior will cost you personal growth and could cost you relationships as well.

As you plan for the year ahead, make a conscious effort to recognize when you feel resistance around an idea or task. Note the resistance and make an effort to move toward that which sounds unpleasant. It's a great way to force yourself to attain higher level of productivity, and the mental boost you'll experience from knocking unpleasant tasks off the list is fantastic.

The only caveat: Don't go walking into fires or wrestling mountain lions. Some instincts are worth obeying . . . . the rest, however, is You avoiding resistance. You're the project!