As stated in The Power Of Resistance Part 1, every path towards success is a fight against resistance. It is the force that wants, above all else, to keep you exactly as you are. Resistance wants this so badly that it will destroy you. It would rather kill you than have you change (not literally, but yes, it is that serious). In this way, resistance is the psychological equivalent of gravity and like gravity it is an ever-present force of nature that can not be negotiated with. It cannot be reasoned with or pacified. However, despite its unflinching nature, you can overcome it. Resistance will never ever play fair so you shouldn’t either. When you find yourself staring down the specter of resistance, here are three great ways to kick sand in its face.
1. Start before you’re ready. Now, while resistance takes many forms, all of the forms have the same weaknesses. The one thing that resistance absolutely cannot stand against is action. Action is the light to resistance’s darkness. Therefore, you must absolutely start right now. There is no getting around it. The biggest lie you are telling yourself is that you are not ready (see The Secret to Success Revealed). Remember, the pathway to hell is paved with good intentions, so if you only remember one thing from this article, remember that the world is not concerned and does not care with what you “intend” to do. It only cares for what you actually do. In this case, you must embrace being vulnerable. You must risk seeming foolish and down right stupid. Far better to be a fool on his path to glory than be a bench warmer with an unblemished record.
2. Get help. You have some serious psychological problems. I know this about you because everyone does. I have spent too much time working with and studying the habits of high-performing leaders to ignore the fact that even the most successful people have their own illogical psychological quirks. If you think that you already know your own blind spots then you’re either too proud to admit your weaknesses or you’re too stupid to understand the definition of a “blind spot.” The point is, you have beliefs and assumptions that don’t make sense. They are hold-overs of some past failure or upset and while they have almost no connection to what’s going on currently in your life, and yet resistance will use them to keep you from getting what you really want. Now, by definition you cannot get perspective on these things on your own. Do yourself a favor and get a coach, a counselor, read self-help books, and do the exercises, but don’t ever think you can do it alone.
3. Close it out. The only thing more important than getting started is finishing. I can’t tell you how many times I see people give up when they are a few steps away from success (myself included). Remember, this is not some inherent personality flaw. It is just resistance and it will win sometimes. Don’t worry about losing some, just make sure that you have a winning record. Now, if you are like most people, when you finally see the light at the end of the tunnel you start to slow down. Don’t. Run through the finish line, not walk to it. When you’re in the home stretch you need to work twice as hard. It is for this reason alone that so many people fail. They are truly afraid of being vulnerable. Too afraid of the quiet time that always accompanies completion. They are simply too afraid to let go of something that they’ve come to identify with and have it be judged. When in fact judgement is exactly what you’re after (you just want it to be positive). Now, stop telling yourself stories. Stop the endless loop of reasoning you’re doing inside your own head. Finish the damn thing and send it out.
Resistance will tell you to read more, learn more, think more, reflect more, talk more, it will tell you whatever it has to to keep you from moving. As resistance recognizes you, it knows exactly what will work (this is the reason to get help). In closing, remember that there is no trick to beating resistance. Thinking that there is a trick is a trick itself. That’s just resistance trying to keep you from taking action
