Becoming Aware Of The Big “R” Word

Do you know about the big “R” word?

Resistance

You’ve likely experienced resistance many times, even if you are not aware of it. I first heard about it from Darren Hardy. My goal in this post is to make you aware of what resistance is and how it tends to manifest in your life so you can avoid letting it stunt progress with your goals. Here are a few of the tips I have about how to overcome resistance.

What is Resistance? 

Resistance is a psychological response to the change process…our brains are wired to keep us safe and static, which is why we unknowingly sabotage our efforts. When you try to get outside of your comfort zone and make changes, resistance is going to kick in.

Your brain wants to keep you in homeostasis!

Homeostasis is actually a very important part of your body’s process. It’s responsible for causing you to take action for your basic needs of food, water, sleep, and more. But, homeostasis in the mind can have a negative effect. For example, if you have a poor self-image, homeostasis will kick in, and you will create resistance to the change process. 

For a deeper explanation of the psychology behind resistance, you can check out the post Michelle Rees wrote on Whole Life Challenge. 

Signs Of Resistance

It’s important that you recognize the signs of resistance, both psychologically and physiologically…because it can keep you from reaching your goals or becoming the person you want to be. When you resist change, you will never know what could have been. Here are the top signs of resistance: 

• Doubting yourself.
• Procrastinating or wasting time on unimportant things.
• Sabotaging your efforts.
• Making excuses for why you can’t make the change.
• Being a perfectionist.
• Refusing to accept compliments or critical feedback. 
• Giving in to guilt, fear, or shame.

Examples of How Resistance Keeps You From Achieving Your Goals

Ed Mylett talks about self-sabotage like this…he says that everyone has a “temperature” they operate at, whether they are aware of it or not. When they take action towards their goals, like working out or turning up the heat in their house, it raises their temperature. After their temperature rises, they naturally do things to bring their temperature back down…typically through self-sabotage. Why? Because it’s where they are comfortable, their brain does what it can to keep the status quo. 

In my own life, this played out with my Dairy Queen habit. Going to Dairy Queen once in a while was never the problem. It’s when I made it a weekly habit that it kept me from reaching my health and fitness goals. I made excuses for my habit because I was taking my family with me…but it became a form of resistance for me (self-sabotage). 

Steps to Overcoming Resistance in Your Life and Reaching Your Goals

Here are the things I’ve done to overcome resistance and actually reach my goals. 

1. Build Awareness

The first thing you have to do is be aware of what resistance is so you can make adjustments. If you know the battle you’re fighting, then you can win. This has happened to me plenty of times. I’d hit big goals and then would stop doing what was necessary to stay there. Self-awareness helped me to recognize this pattern. I then made a conscious effort to change my habits. 

2. Take Daily Action

I’m a big believer in taking small actions every day. You don’t have to make big life changes all of a sudden. Actually, making changes too fast can cause greater resistance.

Create a few daily habits you want to adopt and stick with them. You need to embrace change in order to successfully excel in it. Many people think of change as a negative experience for fear of the unknown. When resisting change, you will never be able to push past the initial fear.

3. Surround Yourself With People That Will Push You

Find other people that you can surround yourself with that will push you and raise your “temperature.” I do this with the Mastermind group that I joined. The men in that group have a growth mindset, and we influence each other. 

4. Invest in Morning Routines

My morning routine has been a big reason that I’ve been able to overcome resistance. I use the first 45 minutes of my day to work on my body, mind, and progress. It sets the tone for my day and allows me to stay more focused on what I need to do to reach my goals. 

Hopefully, you will be more aware of how to overcome resistance now. As I said, it’s the first step in being able to overcome the psychological and physiological responses that hold you back.

Key Take Aways:

• Understand what resistance is and the reason your brain reacts to change.
• Recognize the signs of resistance.
• Take daily actions to overcome resistance in your life.