Resistance


As I have said before, changing diet and/or exercise habits is hard. What is the hardest part is switching from a “how I get things done” paradigm to a “what do I need to get done” paradigm. But we can save that for another (long) post at at later date. We don’t often see the people who are in “how” mode because they are in 24 Hours doing the same thing over an over and not getting results. What we often see are athletes who already know what they should be doing, have gone to experts for help and still not getting it done. They are resisting. (I am saying “they” but you can include both Susan and I here because, well, it takes one to know one. )

I get a newsletter from Seth Godin. He has started the Domino Project. A recent post on the Domino Project’s blog which introduces a book by the Domino Project, Do the Work by Steven Pressfield where resistance is defined and Mr. Pressfield lists the “greatest hits.”

The enemy is Resistance–our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justifications and a million reasons why we can’t/shouldn’t/won’t do what we know we need to do.

What are Resistance’s greatest hits? An excerpt from Do the Work, here are the activities that most commonly elicit Resistance:

  1. The pursuit of any calling in writing, painting, music, film, dance, or any creative art, however marginal or unconventional.
  2. The launching of any entrepreneurial venture or enterprise, for profit or otherwise.
  3. Any diet or health regimen.
  4. Any program of spiritual advancement.
  5. Any activity whose aim is the acquisition of chiseled abdominals.
  6. Any course or program designed to overcome an unwholesome habit or addiction.
  7. Education of every kind.
  8. Any act of political, moral, or ethical courage, including the decision to change for the better some unworthy pattern of thought or conduct in ourselves.
  9. The undertaking of any enterprise or endeavor whose aim is to help others.
  10. Any act that entails commitment of the heart—the decision to get married, to have a child, to weather a rocky patch in a relationship.
  11. The taking of any principled stand in the face of adversity

The Kindle edition of this book, Do the Work, is available for free for a while. If you have a project that you are looking to complete, I would recommend reading this very short, but excellent book.