Are You in Resistance or Resilience?

There is nothing more potent than experiencing something firsthand when you are writing about it. When I got serious about writing my book, (instead of just talking about writing my book), I experienced an unbelievable amount of resistance. This of course was perfect since we can’t cultivate resilience without resistance.

Resistance is the conflict and struggle we create to stay in our comfort zone. We think it keeps us safe, but it really keeps us stuck. Resistance has many different versions. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Distraction: I’m too busy with ____________ to write today.
2. Comparison: I’ll never be as smart or interesting as… Brene Brown.
3. Impatience: Why is this taking me so long?
4. Procrastination: If I do a little more research, I’ll get clear and then I can start.
5. Fear: Who do I think I am?

Resistance is our biggest obstacle to resilience and recognizing it is our biggest opportunity. If we don’t have resistance, we aren’t pushing ourselves to learn and grow by getting outside our comfort zone. Once we acknowledge our resistance, we can work with it by responding with resilience.

Resilience, the capacity to learn and grow about yourself in every situation responds with:

1. Time blocking: I honor myself by honoring my scheduled writing time.
2. Uniqueness: I show up to be the best version of myself.
3. Patience: This takes as long as it takes and I don’t rush it or skip the steps.
4. Action: The more time I spend writing, the more clear I get.
5. Courage: I create from my heart and share the only experience I have, which is my own.

Whatever resistance you are experiencing, whether it’s with writing, changing a policy, or starting an exercise program, we all experience it when we are going into the unknown. When you embrace your resistance and recognize it as an opportunity to learn and grow, you are cultivating resilience. Our resistance and resilience are both fluid, ever-changing states. Where are you today?