8 ways to overcome resistance

Last week, we talked about resistance - the equal and opposite force to your desire to change. You learned how to recognize resistance in yourself and what your habits surrounding resistance are. Now that you are aware of your own resistance, you can take the steps necessary to overcome it.

If any of the symptoms of resistance discussed last week are having a negative impact on your life, use the ideas below to take responsibility for the resistance and empower yourself to combat it.

Drop the judgement

If you have done something – anything! –in pursuit of your project or goal give yourself credit. It is hard to take the first step. The first step will not be perfect, and it will not be the last step; you have not reached your goals yet, but you are on your way and that is worth celebration.

Think outside the box

The ideas and thinking which you have used in the past may not work for this new venture.

Throw out the rule book and start thinking creatively. The more absurd your ideas seem, the better – this is the best way to come up with something entirely new. Have lots of ideas, good and bad, logical and irrational, and capture them all in a brainstorming session. The solution is probably a combination of ideas – the more you have to choose from the more likely you are to find all of the parts which work together to create a successful whole.

Stop making excuses

There are lots of reasons to not do something. Many of them are good self-serving reasons which comfort the part of you which is afraid of change and wants to avoid risk. Making excuses isn’t going to get you any closer to your goals though. You need to jump right in and get started working.

Just DO something

You will probably have to back up and start over again at least a few times if you are engaging in a project which is completely new to you. The first step you take isn’t going to be perfect. This is not failure; this is learning. The best way to learn is to experiment – try something! If it works, great! If it doesn’t, you have learned something and your next attempt will be better. Once you get the ball rolling, it’s easier to keep it in motion.

Do not be afraid to fail

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” Albert Einstein

When you try something new, of course you are going to make mistakes. You have never done anything like this before. You certainly aren’t an expert yet. Go ahead and do it anyway. Expect problems along the way and see them as part of the process. They are opportunities to learn and get better not reasons to doubt yourself and quit. The only real failure is being too scared to make an attempt.

Remember your vision

When you are in the middle of a difficult project, there is so much to learn. You have probably made a pile of mistakes and are feeling frustrated. It feels like all of your effort is going nowhere and you want to quit. When you are feeling frustrated, remember why you are pursuing this goal. What was the spark that led you to start down this path? What is your vision of the future? What will your life look like when you do succeed? How compelling is that vision? Is it worth continuing to fight for?

Reflect on your successes

• Think back to times when you have faced resistance in the past.

• What have you done in the past to overcome resistance? Which strategies work for you?

• Have you used any of the techniques above to move past resistance before?

• Would one or more of these techniques have been helpful in past challenges?

If you are currently facing resistance to a challenge, which of these techniques could you apply today to lessen that resistance?

Give yourself a boost

The way you think about your problems and your resistance can make a big difference in your willingness to move forward and overcome it. Instead of thinking about doing one scary thing every day, shift your focus to developing the courage to do one brave thing every day instead. You are taking the same action, but thinking about it in completely different terms.

When you need a boost of empowerment, you can also feed yourself positive self-talk in the form of affirmations. Your affirmation doesn’t need to be complicated – short and simple is actually better. Write a few of your own affirmations or use these examples:

• Hard work and focus are the paths to success.

• By doing the things I need to do, I am learning and growing every day.

• What is worth doing is rarely easy.

• I have succeeded in doing hard things before and I will succeed again.

• The journey starts with a single step. All I have to do today is take the first step.

• Excuses are mental poison. I will not allow them to cloud my vision and prevent me from reaching my goals.

• The only constant in life is change. The more I accept change, the easier my life will be.

• Through change, I grow. I want to grow so I will make the changes I need to make.