Resistance. It’s something we all feel and deal with. There’s an activity we’re supposed to do or even want to do and yet we resist doing it. Sometimes it doesn’t even make sense why we are resisting. We know what we are supposed to be doing is beneficial to us and yet there’s that feeling in the pit of our stomach and we just can’t bring ourselves to performing the task at hand. How can we deal with the resistance that blocks us?

In May of 2009, I was feeling frustrated in writing my book. Everything seemed to be going wrong. It was taking too long. I had to add multiple chapters. I had more and more to do and was getting less and less done. The writing was slowly coming along but I hadn’t even addressed the publishing side concerning the book. I couldn’t even conceive of dealing with publishing the book. Too scary. Every day was a challenge to get motivated to work. The dodgeball of resistance in the pit of my stomach was solidifying until one afternoon I couldn’t fight it anymore. It was rock-hard.

That was it, I was done. I would never work on the book again. It was too hard. I can’t do this, I don’t want to do this, I’ll never even look at the manuscript ever again. To hell with how far I’d come and how hard I’d worked. I can’t win a dodgeball game with a rock! I quit!

In less than a minute, the rock had disintegrated. My stomach felt fine. I was rock-free. My inertia had ended. I felt like working again. I picked up this publishing trade magazine that I had been avoiding for a long time. I opened it up and there it was…Publishing University. In 10 days, a series of classes to help educate authors and independent publishers was to start in New York. I signed up within the hour. The answer to my resistance had been sitting on my end table for the last two months but I couldn’t bring myself to look at it. Until…I gave up.

Yes it is counter-intuitive but I’ve come to the conclusion that as soon as one tries to fight the resistance they’re feeling that the resistance strengthens. The longer you fight it the stronger it gets. As I continue to test this, like the spiritual scientist I am, I am convinced that giving up will inevitably free you from your inertia and you will accelerate and progress in your chosen endeavor.

If you’re willing to look at this from a spiritual perspective, this act is called surrender. Sounds very formal, doesn’t it? I’ve always considered surrender as a conscious choice. My ego sits down with the Universe at a long rectangular table with flags at each end, inside a big tent. There’s special pens to sign the official documents. We sign and exchange documents and sign again. It’s over. The armistice is in place. My ego agrees to turn over the issue plaguing me to the Universe. The Universe is now in charge of my resistance/problem/issue. But I didn’t consciously hand this over. I quit. The Universe solved my problem anyway. Surrender or quitting, in essence I was asking for help. Your ego may not be comfortable with this practice but it will see the success that it yearns for. It will get easier.

Consider giving this a chance. What do you have to lose? You weren’t getting anywhere anyway…

Tags: frustration, issues, resistance, surrender

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