“Resistance seems to come from outside ourselves. We locate it in spouses, jobs, bosses, kids. ‘Peripheral opponents,’ as Pat Riley used to say when he coached the LA Lakers. Resistance is not a peripheral opponent. Resistance arises from within. It is self-generated and self-perpetuated. Resistance is the enemy within.” – Steven Pressfield
Athletes know about this place. It is the point in time when all of the foundation work you have done reaches its peak. The vision that you created, the business you wanted to start, the book you wanted to write, the new career you wanted to launch… Your creativity, ambition, desire and drive helped you achieve tremendous momentum towards attaining your dream. About 2/3 into the journey here comes the wall. Its the point where the momentum that carried you through until now has begins to falter. The ugly voice in your head that shouts STOP begins to escalate. “You can’t do this-What makes you think you have what it takes? Who encouraged you to charge forward? Where are they now that you need them?? Those guys are more educated and equipped than you are. Why are you going to risk what you have now for something bigger? What if you fail?”
I have a name for the part of my personality that likes to show herself when I hit the wall, and her middle name is Resistance. She thinks she has an important job, that of protecting me from any possibility of change or pain. I know that there are many facets to my personality, and the one who is always afraid and doubtful doesn’t get much airtime anymore. She sometimes forgets that I put her into early retirement, and at the beginning of her voice not taking center stage, she fought me a lot. But the funny thing is that the less I listen to her, the quieter she gets.
What I am saying to you is that we ALL have doubts and fears. What differentiates people who are moving forward in the direction of their dreams from those who stay stuck is the thing called TAKING ACTION. When you face that wall that is your resistance, its time to stand up straight and send that negative doubting voice in your head on a much needed vacation. She is not acting in your best interest. Her power comes from your ego, not from your heart. Her greatest fear is failure, embarrassment, and ridicule, and she is the direct opposite of the creative part of you that wants to grow, has a story to tell, wants to make a positive difference in this world and is the True You.