Ahh, resistance. We know it all too well. The classic internal struggle between what you know you should be doing and ANYTHING ELSE that happens to cross your path and seems more pressing/appealing/urgent in the moment. 😉

Resistance seems to show up like clockwork whenever we’ve made a deep commitment to personal growth. It swoops in just when we’re on the brink of change or when we’re working on creating something really, really big (especially if it’s something that’s close to our heart).

Here’s the thing: resistance is just fear in disguise. It’s our ego all dolled up, a wolf in sheep’s clothing —- seemingly harmless, but with sinister, hidden motives. Resistance is like a bad frenemy. It lures us into thinking it’s got our back  (“It’s ok, just stay right here in your cozy comfort zone”) while all it’s really doing is preventing us from growing spiritually, making positive changes in our lives and, ultimately, going after our dreams.

Here’s an example where resistance came up recently for me:

Last year, I enrolled in Belinda Davidson’s School of the Modern Mystic (SO amazing, by the way). I spent 7 months working on and cleansing my chakras (the body’s energy centers) and, as a result, my life was kind of rocking. Then the course ended, I moved on to other things and I stopped doing my chakra cleanse meditation (one of the resources you receive in the course), um, pretty much altogether. I kept telling myself it was because the version I downloaded randomly cuts off a couple minutes before the end, which is kind of jarring when you’re deep in meditation. (This is true, but mind you, I had done it that way many times before).

Lately I’ve been recognizing that there are some areas of my life that are in need of a tune up and I’ve been feeling the call to return to my chakra cleanse meditation (Psst! The things in life that are tugging at you are the the things you need to do), so I emailed the course instructor to see if I could get another download. Initially, she misunderstood and sent me a slightly longer version of the  meditation that goes a little more in depth into cleansing each chakra —— a version I already had. I hit reply to email her back and request the shorter version, and in that moment I paused and I realized that all of the hemming and hawing about not having the full recording was just an excuse. I’d had the resources for the meditation all along! In fact, I’d had a longer, (and probably more effective) complete version of the meditation at my fingertips the entire time.

This experience was an eye opener in just how sneaky resistance can be. Luckily, once I recognized I was simply experiencing resistance, I was able to move quickly through it. In other words, I sat my butt down and did my meditation!

Some common ways resistance can show up in our lives:

– Anxiety or overwhelm

– PROCRASTINATION – This is a HUGE one. Who hasn’t convinced themselves they need to watch just one more  episode of Scandal or check social media for the fiftieth time before starting X, Y or Z? Yep, we’ve all been there..

– Not carving out a sacred space for your dream and falling prey to constant text messages, interruptions or other external stimuli as a result

– Creating drama in your life – Sometimes dramatic things happen, but our egos love to make things more dramatic than they need to be

Resistance can be tricky, but there are some tips you can use to outsmart it. Here are some tools I’ve learned that will help you move through resistance more easily:

Get curious. Identify the fear behind the resistance. What is it that you’re really afraid of? That you aren’t capable of sticking with your goal? That you’ll fail or your work won’t be received? Journal it out until you get the root of it.

Breathe through the resistance. When anxiety and overwhelm come up, use this trick I learned from the lovely Rha Goddess last summer at Spirit Junkie Masterclass: identify the fear that is coming up for you and breathe through it for 90 seconds. Repeat a mantra if it helps (such as, “One step at a time,” or “I am capable of anything I put my mind to”). By feeling the emotion rather than resisting it, you allow the fear to move through you and then it dissipates much more quickly.

Call yourself out on your BS. Become aware of your excuses and see them for what they are. Write a list of all the reasons why you think you can’t accomplish (or haven’t accomplished) your goal, then comb through it like a detective busting through every excuse. If you’re feeling like you’re really stuck, are there any creative ways around it? (For example, my creative solution would have been just doing the longer version of my meditation.)

Take action. As Kundalini master Yogi Bhajan says, “When the time is on you, start, and the pressure will be off.” In other words, resistance doesn’t go away until we start taking action. So start already! What’s the worst that can happen?

XOXO

Kristi

How does resistance show up for you? How do you move through it? Leave me a comment below! <3