I’ve been noticing a lot of resistance popping up lately. I know this is a good sign because it means I’m on the edge of what’s comfortable. We can live whole years being comfortable, it feels good, until it doesn’t, and that’s when you start to look for ways to change. But no matter what your current state is, when you start to make changes, you will encounter resistance, yes it might be from your family, your friends, or your job, but the biggest source of resistance is going to come from the same person that wants to make the change – YOU.
Why do we create resistance to hold us back from the change that we want? Well, there is some fascinating research out there on how our brains work. From a neuroscience standpoint, we are hard-wired to resist change with the added bonus that when we do encounter change it can stimulate the prefrontal cortex which is directly linked to the amygdala a.k.a. the brain’s fear circuitry. So here you are motivated and excited about the changes that you want to implement in your business or in your life knowing that there will be external challenges but you also have the internal challenge of your own brain resisting the change. So how do you overcome the resistance?
Notice. Notice. Notice. As you soon as you begin to notice the resistance, rather than react to it, you are on the path to change. Awareness doesn’t mean that you won’t feel fear or that it won’t be difficult to get through it, but it will allow you to make a CHOICE. Now you can ask yourself, is bearing this fear worth it? Would I rather stay where I am at or would I rather do what it takes to make the change, even though it will require me to feel this way? I say lean into your resistance, hang out there for a minute, watch yourself and all the weird thoughts popping up. Watch your “fight or flight” response and do neither. Just lean into it, until you recognize it for what it is. So like I was saying, I’m noticing all this resistance popping up. But I’m just noticing it and I’m putting one foot in front of the other, realizing this is just me, making a change, and right now it doesn’t feel that good, but I’m going to keep leaning into it, until it happens.
Goman, Carol Kinsey. “Why We Resist Change, and What Leaders Can Do About It.” Forbes December 2011. 12 December 2012 <http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2011/12/19/why-we-resist-change-and-what-leaders-can-do-about-it/>.
Photo:Lean in/Nathan Rupert/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
