If you could choose to be one thing for the rest of your life what would you choose to be? What is the one thing that sets your soul on fire? What makes your heart sing?

Would you choose to be a writer, painter, investment banker, park ranger, chef, salesman, gardener, stylist, designer, or teacher?

Me? I would choose to be what I already am…a Health Coach. Full Disclosure: that has not always been the case. But let me ask you a vital question. Are you pursuing that one thing that sets your soul on fire and are you taking daily action towards your aspirations?

If not, you may be yielding to a force known as Resistance. Are you familiar? I had no idea that Resistance was the force that held me back from pursuing my hearts desire, for nearly an entire decade, until I was introduced to a book called “The War of Art” by Steven Presfield. It was oddly soothing and very healing to be able to give a name to, the thing, the force, that held me back for so long. (Cue, Ah Ha moment.)

You see my friend Resistance is simply part of the human condition and naturally deters us from anything that stands to have a positive impact in our lives. It’s the governing force behind self-sabotage, procrastination, perfectionism, and lack of follow-through. Can you relate? These are all natural behaviors and exhibiting them doesn’t make you a fuck-up, loser, or a failure. Only human! So give yourself some grace and love if you’ve fallen prey to the inner mind-games that attach themselves to these behaviors. You are human! I see you! I know!

Have you ever said or thought the following:
“just start on Monday”
“stop”
“why bother”
“you aren’t good enough”
“it’s pointless”
“you’ll never make it”
“start tomorrow”
“you’ve already messed-up no need to keep going”

Mmmmm, sound familiar. Guess what that’s resistance! Let it go!

Resistance a beast it might be isn’t all bad it can be our strongest ally. Resistance is our North Star it points us in the direction we must go. And if you are still searching for your calling: that which we resist is often our hearts deepest desire our life’s purpose. Deep down we all know what it is we really need to be doing.

The reasons we resist can be cumbersome and complicated (think: shame, guilt, fear of failure, fear of success), but they are of little consequence in the big scheme. The answer, the antidote is simple. Move into action. Do the work. Face the blank page. The empty canvas. Your life’s plate is for your design.

Pursuing your hearts desire is key to a happy, healthy, fully expressed life.

Get Started with this Exercise:

Ask yourself what it is that your are resisting.

Is it that load of laundry. That scary messy closet. That phone call, text, or email. That workshop or class. That new career. That assignment. That novel you want to write. That painting you haven’t started. That meal you’ve wanted to cook. That relationship you’ve wanted to end or begin. That walk. That new workout. That book.

Write down on a piece of paper what it is your resisting.(Yes, real pen and real paper.) We all have something that we are resisting. It's key to just go with your gut here. Don't spend too much time thinking about it. Let your gut a.k.a your intuition be your guide in this step. 

Next jot down a few reason why resistance is showing up for you. Is there shame, guilt, fear of failure or success attached? All of which are agents of resistance. The "what" is more important than the "why" here. If you want to dive deeper into your feelings and explore the why then by all means explore. Calling something by is name is good medicine.

Then write down the action step(s) required to make what it is you are resisting happen. Your list may be short or long and that’s perfectly okay. If you have multiple steps you may want to order them.

Finally, just dive-in and start and complete the first or perhaps only item on your action list. I’m hear to tell you it doesn’t matter how good, perfect, or pretty it is the key is to stay in action (everyday) and by doing so overcoming resistance.

Find out more about how Health Coaching and the YBP approach can help you move through Resistance here

Curious about working together? Get in touch here

Love this exercise or have questions? Drop me a line in the comments below! I would love to here from you :)

XOXO,

Olivia