You know, once upon a time I was scared of becoming a Health Coach. What if I didn’t find any clients? What if I did, and they didn’t like me, or I didn’t like them? What if they didn’t like my coaching style or see results? What if I quit my career and then had to go crawling back to my Boss asking for my old job? What if, what if, what if…

Oh yeah, baby. Resistance was in the house and my fear of failure was making a big, cosy bed for it.
 

Resistance is fuelled by fear. Resistance has no strength of its own. Every ounce of juice it possesses comes from us. – Steven Pressfield

 
For months Resistance tried every trick in the book – distraction, procrastination, rationalisation, self-medication (*ahem*, huge goblets of wine), self-criticism and self-doubt.

Thankfully, once I listened to enough IIN lectures, I trusted my intuition whispering that this was my calling. Shaking with fear but determined to do it anyway, I took the plunge – right into the most incredibly humbling and rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life.

Now I watch my clients break through their own resistance, get unstuck, and move into a place of serenity – a place where they feel confident and free, often for the very first time. I cheer them on as they heal, reconnect with themselves, and develop deeper connections with their hubby and children. I watch in awe as they courageously leave destructive thoughts and patterns behind, and forge new paths. They stand up for a new life that feels authentically them, fall in love, develop new friendships, follow their passions, and express themselves creatively.

After years in the corporate world, I feel like I’m finally living my purpose, helping people, and making the world a happier place.

How sad would it have been if I’d let fear-fuelled resistance hold me back from all this? Tragic, right?
 

Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance. – Steven Pressfield

 

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And because Resistance never sleeps, I felt it again when it came time to upgrade this website. For months, my love (Dom) had been telling me that we’d outgrown the old site. Technology moves fast. You gotta keep up. These website issues are distracting us from our bigger purpose… But what if everything breaks even more when we move to the new site? We’ve already spent so many hours slaving over the old one – what if that’s just the beginning? What if having to fix website stuff keeps me from having more time to help clients? What if all the posts I poured my heart into over the past couple of years go up in smoke – poof! – just like that? What if, what if, what if…

But when Dom came to bed at midnight the other night because he’d been up trying to fix things on my old site yet again, I knew enough was enough. The next morning I booted Resistance out with an emphatic “Let’s do it.” The pain of staying in the same place had become greater than my fear of change. Within the hour we had begun migration to this new site – one that works exactly as it should and will free up so much more of our time so we can both get on with our true calling.

Steven Pressfield’s book ‘The War of Art’ is rocking my world right now. He believes that the more important the task/event is to the evolution of your soul, the more resistance you’ll feel towards actually doing it. Spot on, right?

Resistance is the beast that stops you from creating art, launching that new venture, improving your health, studying something new, or committing. It could show up as procrastination, distraction, self-doubt, or destructive patterns. It wants to hold you back and keep you small.

When you push past Resistance, you grow. You evolve. You reach your potential. You give back. You become a nicer person.
 

To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be. – Steven Pressfield

 
So what are you most feeling resistance to right now, beautiful? What does your intuition whisper you need to do? If it feels too big and too scary, it’s probably exactly what you need. Maybe it’s a dream you’ve had in your heart since you were a little girl, or maybe it’s something that has only started calling to you recently – something you’ve swatted away with thoughts of ‘don’t be ridiculous, I could never do that.’

Well, newsflash!  You can and you should. You owe it to yourself – and to us.
 

The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it… [Creative work is] a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got. – Steven Pressfield

 
The most important thing is just to start. What’s one little step you could take towards that dream or calling today? Just one teensy thing that scares the crap out of you but that you could actually conquer?

And then what’s one teensy thing you could do tomorrow? And the next day? And the day after that?

Resistance will tell you you’ll never get there. Just put your headphones on, pump your favourite tunes, and keep going. One step after another.

Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear, beautiful. Kick Resistance where it hurts and climb that mountain! Because I promise you, you can do it. And the view is magical.

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4 Comments on Overcoming Resistance

  1. Bec
    March 28, 2014 at 11:11 am (10 years ago)

    WOW!! What a post!! And funnily enough, exactly what I needed!! As the old saying goes, motivation is like showering, it is recommended daily for the best effectiveness!!

    • Vegan Sparkles
      March 30, 2014 at 5:34 pm (10 years ago)

      Oh I’m so glad it helped, Bec, and that saying is so true! xx

  2. Brittany
    April 2, 2014 at 9:38 am (10 years ago)

    I am so glad you took the leap, it’s SO inspiring my friend. AND LOOK AT YOU NOW!

    • Vegan Sparkles
      April 3, 2014 at 11:39 am (10 years ago)

      Thank you so much, beautiful Britt! x