Over the course of the past year, there have been some things coming together for me. I am working on expanding my business, and really pleased about the direction it's going. Just as teenagers have growing pains, we too experience discomfort as a result of our expansion. This discomfort often comes in the form of resistance.
Resistance: Any thoughts, feelings, or beliefs that are inconsistent with or contrary to that which is desired. The state of resisting something that has a relationship to an overall goal or desired outcome. (In all practically, if you consider what it means to resist something, you get the picture.)
Resistance is a topic that is familiar in the Law of Attraction space but receives limited attention in the realm of personal finance. This is unfortunate because resistance is a mental and emotional barrier that provides valuable insight as to what we really want. The more people I work with, and the more work I do on myself, the more I realize that resistance is simply a part of my own expansion so long as I take care to analyze and release it.
First, isolate the area of life in which you're experiencing resistance. There may be multiple areas but start with just one. In my case, I'll begin with my work. Since we spend so much of our time at work, and it is oftentimes the primary source of our financial lives, we'd like our work experience to be as wonderful as possible. So if resistance pops up there, it's worth addressing.
1. What is it you resist doing/thinking about/facing?
This is where you simply list the things you seem to resist doing. Don't judge them, just get them down.
Recently, a colleague recommended that I consider the implementation of a particular technological tool. This particular piece of technology could streamline a few things for me, and make certain aspects of doing my workflow more easily. I went to the website suggested by my colleague and immediately felt anxious. My mind became flooded and I was completely overwhelmed.
As it turns out, I tend to resist executing certain kinds of technological tasks. If someone else is able to implement the technological tool, I'm all for it. But, I tend to resists being the one that needs to execute it.
2. Why do you resist doing this?
Again, we're not judging ourselves, but we are taking the opportunity to have a little conversation with our inner self about its reasoning.
With regards to my technology resistance, I've noticed that over the years I've always felt a little behind where such things are concerned. It seems that people just a few years younger than me had access to technology in their schoolyears constantly. That wasn't my situation. We used very little technology when I was in high school, but just a few years after I graduated that seemed to change, and high school students' education became very technology-centered. I literally didn't learn how to use the internet until college. Now, I've learned a lot over the years, and I would say I'm pretty well competent at the most important things. My relationship with technology doesn't in any way prevent me from being able to do my job. That being said, I completely shy away from things that appear to be "too advanced."
3. What is this highlighting?
Often times when we're experiencing resistance, it's highlighting perceived barriers that shed light on that which we do want by way of that which we don't want.
In my life, this is highlighting that I really want things to feel simple. I want things to flow.
3b. Is there a Limiting Belief in play?
Sometimes, when we begin to consider what is being highlighted by the resistance, it will bring us to a limiting belief. While that's not always the case, it certainly was with me and my technology "issue." In fact, I have been literally saying (and reinforcing) my own limiting belief for YEARS. Here it is: "I'm not a very technological person."
There's a lot of work that I do around limiting beliefs and have written about it before. I know there's plenty I can do to dispel this one because, in all actuality, I'm not entirely sure it's even true! There are countless technological things I've done thus far in life, and I'm sure there will be countless more! I have written down this limiting belief and am doing to do some work around it. But for this moment, I want to stick with the items that's caused me the resistance in this situation. So, that leads me to my last resistance analysis question.
4. What can I do about it?
In an ideal world, this step leads you to some inspired action. This is where you brainstorm some options that make sense for your particular scenario.
I could choose to ignore everything that appears to be above my technological skill level. Quite frankly, if I didn't even touch this technological tool recommended by my colleague, my life would be fine. It's really not essential at all. But that option doesn't totally feel right.
I could choose to approach it with curiosity. I've actually been doing that. I've gone back to this website several times and done some reading about this technological tool, and the truth is that it's not really making me feel anxious and overwhelmed anymore. I'm not quite ready to go full-on in using it yet, but I'm choosing to be curious about it: What is it? How does it work? Could it actually be fun in some way?
I could also lean on my other two team members as I learn how to use it. They are both more comfortable with certain types of technology than I am. Maybe they could help me investigate it. Quite frankly, maybe one of them will think it's simple and want to take it on entirely. That would be fine too.
In my situation, what feels right is to continue some gentle poking around and investigating with this little technological item that's causing me resistance. But in other cases, resistance might literally be highlighting something you absolutely don't want in life, and that's okay too! The point is to stop and take stock by analyzing your resistance. No matter what I choose to do, I am ready to simply let it go.
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