Did you know that there’s a force out there that may be crushing your dreams right now, without you even being aware of it? I’ve just finished reading Steven Pressfield’s book, The War of Art. While there were parts of the book that I fundamentally disagree with, it was still an interesting read on the topic of resistance – the force that does its utmost to prevent us from ever achieving our goals and turning our biggest dreams into reality. Resistance is that which sucks our souls dry and leaves us mired in the hell that is the almost-but-not-quite. It’s the thing that chains us to unrealized potential.
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Pressfield views resistance as a lethal killer – it’s out to obliterate us utterly by making sure that we never, ever, achieve that dream that is inside of us, and it’s the ultimate soul-destroyer. A little melodramatic maybe, but I do think he has a point. Resistance tells us that not going after the dream is the most reasonable thing to do and it gives us all sorts of excellent reasons why we shouldn’t. And it is such a clever beast – it’s a master of disguise and can cloak itself in ways that make it’s seductive words seem like the most sane and logical course of action we could take. It
Resistance is a liar
But all its words and reasons are outright lies. Resistance is not here to protect you, or help you in any way. Its sole raison d’être is the destruction of your dream; the complete annihilation of that special gift that only you can bring to this world. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions… well, resistance is the one who built that road in the first place.
When you lose your dream – when you give up on it or let it go – you are dooming yourself to a lifetime of wondering what would have happened… if. If you’d been brave enough. If you’d been determined enough. If you’d been strong enough. If you’d been motivated enough. If you’d just stood up for yourself and taken the chance to make it happen.
Resistance will destroy you
The thing is there is nothing more harmful to the human soul than not going after the dream. This is the biggest cause of misery and unhappiness out there. When you are not actively becoming the best version of you that you can be… it destroys you from the inside out. Resistance may be slowly crushing your dreams, but they will never die completely. Never. They are too much a part of you.
So when you let them go they will continue to gnaw at you forever. No matter what you do or where you go, they will be calling to you, desperately trying to turn you in the right direction. And there is nowhere in all of Creation that you can run or hide that will keep those dreams from whispering to you… begging you to turn them into a reality.
And this is why resistance is so dangerous. The sole purpose of resistance is to prevent you from taking the action that is necessary to turn your dreams into reality. It will appeal to your sense of responsibility; it will guilt-trip you; it will seduce you by telling you that you will be happier if you just let it go. It will tell you that it’s too hard. It will tell you that another option would make more sense for you. It will tell you that putting things off is the best way to make things happen. It will tell you anything it needs to tell you in order keep you from doing what you must do in order to turn those dreams into reality.
Resistance knows you
You see, resistance knows you. In some ways, it knows you better than you know yourself. It knows how to manipulate you, and it will not hesitate to do so. It knows exactly what to tell you to make you procrastinate and put things off, and it knows how to make you think that that is actually a good thing. You’ll be crushing your dreams and thinking you’re doing the right thing by doing so, even though you’re destroying your soul in the process. And the really insidious thing about it all is that more important that dream of yours is to you, the stronger your resistance to actually making it happen will be.
It’s critical that you recognize resistance when it crops up, for two reasons: 1) obviously, it should be a danger signal to you that you need to be very careful about what messages you’re listening to and acting upon; and 2) it should also be a signal to you that you are on the right path; when you’re feeling resistance towards doing something that you know will help you, it is a sign that this is the direction in which you absolutely must move forward.
Resistance is a sign
Train yourself to see resistance as the doorway to everything you want in life. Don’t go looking for it, of course, but when you notice it cropping up, realize that is a neon sign pointing the way to the course of action that will be most beneficial to your own personal evolution or emergence. When you feel resistance, it means that this is what you need to do in order to get to your next level.
So do it.
Recognize what the resistance is and what it means. Let it make you angry if that’s what it takes – how dare resistance stand between you and everything you want most in life? How dare resistance try to tell you that this isn’t what you really want when you can feel with every fibre of your being that it is? How dare resistance try to squash the precious gift that only you can give to this beautiful world? How dare it.
Use resistance as fuel for the fire
Let the realization that resistance is standing between you and your dream fuel your determination to succeed. Feel the power that comes with this realization and then use every single trick you know to get yourself through it. Just freaking DO IT! Got a book you’ve been wanting to write? Make yourself write every single day. Set a timer and focus yourself completely on getting it done. It doesn’t matter if what you write is any good, as long as you make sure to write during the time you have dedicated to the task, and that you do it consistently.
Trying to launch a business but keep putting things off? Same thing; use a timer and get things done. Just decide to do it and then make it happen. Whatever your dream is, commit yourself to taking real action towards it every single day despite anything in you that tries to convince you not to. Build that website. Sign up for the audition. Submit your demo tape. Apply for the job. Ask about showing your work at that new gallery. Just do something today to bring yourself closer to that dream. And then do something else to bring you even closer tomorrow.
Don’t let resistance to continue crushing your dreams. Don’t let it drain your soul. See that resistance for the destructive force that it is and push through it. The only power it has is the power you give it. Take the power back and channel it into building that which you want most in life. Build your dream.
photo credit: pixabay.com cc (modified by me)
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Was that what was happening??????????? And I thought it was the brain’s protection in a rough time. Well, it could also be that, but this makes more sense. I think this was the demon at the end of The Journey of Michael Thomas he fought off. That is a good read as well.
I am very happy to report I am free of the demon’s shackles. I was held prisoner for some time, but it does not matter now. I am free. It is a very powerful, sickening demon, but the point is we have to carry on anyway. We have to get past it, ignore it. Thanks for clarifying that it is an indicator that we ARE on the right path. So, the right path does have obstacles. Who would have thought? People are so confused over this. You know, when speaking with a spiritual person once, he did tell me this, but it did not really register in my despair. But now I totally get it!
The Universe helps out by bringing opportunities your way, so it does take care of that. I always think of the Susan Boyle example. That audition came, she went for it and it all came together! Life is mostly about showing up, isn’t it? But you have to show up. you have to go, no matter what the resistance.
It would be great if we can talk more about alignment after talking about this.
The right path has obstacles because of our own lifetimes of programming. We expect obstacles. We struggle with the sometimes diametrically opposed desires of what we want vs what we believe we “should” want in life. We have decades of other people’s voices that we’ve internalized telling us that we’ll never make it, that we’re not good enough, that we’re selfish for not doing what’s expected of us, etc. We also have an innate conflict between curiousity/sense of adventure and caution/risk-avoidance. There’s going to to be obstacles no matter what road we choose. But when we know in our heart of hearts what it is that we truly want… whatever stands between us and it is our resistance coming to the forefront.
If you’re afraid but still excited, then go for it. If you’re terrified and dreading it to the core of your being, don’t do it. Heed your inner wisdom at all times. You know the path that’s best for you — you just need to let yourself listen.
Yes, you need to show up. LOA will bring you the opportunities; if you align yourself with what you want, serendipity takes over. But you’re the only one who can decide whether to take advantage of those opportunities or not. You must act when the opportunities arrive or they aren’t much use to you.
Lots of thoughts about this topic as well!
I was just thinking how Abe Hicks are right. I think I am catching up to my higher self who is already at that job I will one day go to. Maybe I am already temporarily there and will really be working there in the future. I mean, it may have even brought me to the very place I will be working! But I was dealing with all this resistance and fear about stuff, like that of failure, regrets about what I did not do because the present path seems hard and fear about the job in the future. So, though my gut told me to move forward and the universe presented me with lots of signs to go forth, the resistance held me back. But the universe continues to bring signs, so follow them I must!
It’s like that sometimes. We want what we want so badly, but if we’re not completely aligned with it yet, our fears can take over. I really have to get this book published. Aiming for later this spring. I’ve got so many people struggling with their fears right now, I think I’ll go with the self-publishing route again — it’s faster to get it out to you all than attempting the traditional publishing route.
You’re recognizing your own resistance now, and that’s the first step in overcoming it. You’re getting closer to that dream job every day, A. 🙂