Anarchy Journal Constitutional

Resistance is a Roadblock and a Brick Wall

Have you ever felt paralyzed by indecision, knowing exactly what you need to do but unable to take action? I’ve been there, countless times. The culprit? Resistance, the invisible saboteur that can derail our plans, our goals, and our dreams often before we even get started.

I’ve realized that resistance has been a huge roadblock in my life. Just take this article — I put off writing it for three extra days, letting resistance win when I sat down to write. Even with routines in place to help me tackle that writing resistance, it’s so much easier to say, “I’ll do it later” or “I’ll handle it tomorrow,” and then get lost in distractions, whether online or in the real world.

Not doing something is still a choice. When I choose not to act, I’m choosing to miss out. There’s no escaping the cost of that choice. Giving in to resistance only makes things tougher, which is the opposite of what we want. We often think, “I don’t want to make things worse,” but that’s exactly what happens when we do nothing.

So, how does giving in to resistance make things worse? It breeds bad habits. It keeps us stressed and anxious. It turns into excuse-making. We end up feeling stuck or helpless, living from a place of inaction that feels lazy.

Habitual Wet Cement

And that’s a perfect way to describe it — cementing a lazy mindset. Once you’re used to being lazy, trying to switch to a more proactive attitude feels like trying to walk through wet cement that’s already starting to harden. It’s tough because fighting against the habit of giving in to resistance is like pushing against reality. Remember, inaction is still a form of action. So now, on top of laziness, stress, and anxiety, there’s also this extra layer of resisting change.

“The reason why we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” — Steven Furtick

So, how do we change? How do we at least start to attempt to change? Well by letting go and giving up of course. It would be weird if the solution didn’t sound weird and counterintuitive. But we’re not giving up on ourselves, giving up on our goal(s), giving up on life. We’re letting go of our illusion of control. We’re giving up our need to achieve the perfect, ideal version of what we want based on our own imagined outcome.

Resistance is the Red Right Hand of Perfectionism.

We’re giving up perfectionism when we stop giving in to resistance. When we accept we are not only not perfect, but are closer to mediocrity than our ego would ever care to let us admit. That is why we have to try. That is why we have to do it. That is why we have to work at it. What is it? It is our goal, our task, our life’s work, what we want to achieve, etc.

“Letting go doesn’t mean giving up. It means accepting that some things are out of your control and that life goes on whether you like it or not.” — Katharina Manderson

Mindfulness and Microtasking

One step at a time, one choice at a time, one action at a time. A building is built brick by brick, plank by plank, beam by beam, floor by floor. Each action we take, and each piece of work we create helps us get to the vision we have in our head pragmatically.

We can’t think our way into anything but we can think our way out of everything. Whatever it is that we want to do, to get it done we need to get out of our heads, get into the present moment, and focus on the first small thing we have to do, to tangibly move our process of accomplishment forward.

Whether we want to move mountains or move into the kitchen to get a snack, we start by getting up and taking a single step in the direction we need to move. Small chunking or micro-tasking takes the burden of accomplishment off of our shoulders.

We mindfully or consciously choose to focus on the present moment, and on this small, individual action we have to take. It may seem insignificant at first and maybe insignificant in the long run but micro-tasking is the way to pragmatically and consistently move through resistance and let go of perfectionism.

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.” — Randy Pausch

Awareness then Action is the Path to Progress

So, the next time you find yourself grappling with resistance, and there will be a next time, try to remember: it’s a choice. You can let it hold you back, or you can choose to let go. Embrace mindfulness and micro-tasking. Choose to focus on taking small actions, step by step and you’ll find you can overcome any obstacle to accomplishing your goals.

The journey may be challenging because life is challenging. However, the rewards are immeasurable. Are you ready to break free from the chains of resistance and embrace a life of freedom and fulfillment?