3 ways to reject resistance
Resistance tends to rear its ugly head at the most inopportune times. I’m pretty sure it’s not just me who’s privy to this information either.
I mean seriously.
Take today for example. For the past couple of months or so, I’ve worked out for around 15 minutes almost every day*. This morning was one of those mornings where, despite putting on the workout gear, laying down my mat and poring myself a tall glass of water to enjoy once the hard work was over – I couldn’t get started.
6:00am – Wake up.
6:00am – Snooze.
6:09am – Wake up again.
6:09am – Snooze again.
6:18am – Wake up and start scrolling through Instagram.
6:25am – Head over to Facebook for some scrolling over there too.
6:40am – Get out of bed and put on workout clothes.
6:45am – Walk around for a while willing myself to do the workout (‘its JUST 15 minutes, Naomi.’)
6:50am – Layout mat and pour water.
6:52am – Head back over to my phone for some more senseless scrolling.
7:00am – Trying to decide which workout I’ll do today.
7:05am – Workout picked. Standing on the edge of my mat contemplating getting down there.
7:10am – Another recommended Youtube video catches my eye and I start watching it.
7:12am – Cut video short & start moaning at myself about why I can’t just START.
7:13am – FINALLY hit the mat. (Celebration time, people.)
7:25am – Realising that it’s not that bad after all and pushing myself with some extra reps in the gaps between sets.
7:30am – Finished, drinking some water. Decide to do ANOTHER quick 4 minute arm-toning workout…
I’ve written it all out like that so that you can see how REAL the resistance is around doing things we WANT to do; things which we know will be GOOD for us. Why did it take me 73 minutes from the sounding of my initial alarm to actually get a move on?!
Aside from all of that though, I want you to notice something. When I started, my mind was saying I’d do the minimum amount required of me just so I could say I’d worked out. By the time I got to the end, I was adding something else.
Your results are on the other side of your resistance.
Write that down, stick it on your mirror, your fridge, your forehead – basically wherever you need to put it in order to recognise how REAL resistance is and how important it is that you do everything you can in order to overcome it.
You get nowhere by not starting.
More than that though… once you start, you won’t want to stop.
The same principles of course apply to anything – following your God-given calling in-particular.
I mean, how often have you had an incredible idea, only to find yourself ‘too busy’ to actually get started? And how much of your busy looks like my 6:00am – 7:13am?
We’ll often run out of time simply because we haven’t stewarded it properly.
We all have the same amount of hours in a day. Today, I could have given myself an extra hour and thirteen minutes. That’ s LOT of time to get stuff done if you’re actually knuckling down and focusing on making it work.
Of course, if you, like I did, decide that scrolling through social media is more of a priority, with a side of aimless wandering, then yes, you will indeed fall short of what you’re setting out to do – or you’ll at least rob yourself of the opportunity to do better with the time you have.
So here are 3 tips for beating resistance:
1. Start small. When I finally decided I’d actually get on with my workout, I’d set myself up to do as little as possible. As you read, it didn’t stop there, but if I’d told myself I was doing a longer workout than usual when I began, I would have been even more reluctant to start. Do one thing first and then let the rest unfold.
2. Time yourself. Seeing as my workouts are timed, whenever I’m not feeling it, I get to tell myself that ‘it’s only 15 minutes’. This helps me realise that there’s a start and an end point. Similarly, if I can’t get into my writing or content-creating groove, I put a timer on** and tell myself that I’ll do it for that long (usually 25 minutes) and will take it from there. I nearly always go beyond the time I set myself because I’ve allowed myself to get into it and started to actually enjoy it.
3. Reward resistance rejection. When you’ve done something which you spent ages trying to avoid, give yourself a little pat on the back in the form of something you enjoy. I like taking myself to cafes, hotel lobbies and coffee shops from time to time and so when I’ve accomplished something I set out to do, I might decide to work away from my home office and treat myself.
Ultimately though, resistance is a resting post, NOT your final destination.
You don’t get to stay in stagnancy just because it’s hard to get started. And even though it’s easier said than done, once you do start you won’t want to stop, which is the result you were looking for in the first place, right?
There are no short-cuts, no hacks or anything else which is going to have you doing the work and accomplishing what you set out to do, but there are some steps in the right direction you can take which will have you operating at ‘unstoppable’ in no time.
Give yourself grace and then get in gear.
This isn’t a message about beating yourself up for not being further along than you planned right now. We all do it, and overcoming resistance is hard. What’s harder though, is knowing that on the other side of it is exactly what you’ve been waiting for. Take today’s tips and get to work, you’ll be SO thankful you did!
Oh, and I’d love to know what YOU have been resisting and how you overcame it! Share with me in the comments below.
The world is waiting for your work.
* - Workouts thanks to Lucy Wyndham Read
** - Timer (Pomodoro technique) thanks to Focus Keeper
By the way… If you know you’re ready to finally draw a line in the sand as far as hanging out at hobby status or side hustle goes, I have just the thing. My ‘What’s in Your Hand’ live workshop has been created to empower you with the skillset and mindset you need in order to bring your God-given mission to life using the very gifts, skills & talents you already possess. You’ll walk away with a 4-week action plan and will be ready to get going immediately. To learn more and to register for next week’s workshop, click HERE.