Not very yogic language, I know. Feeling resistance brings out the worst in me.

Resistance is a dirtyrottenstinkerscoundrelbitch. (see.)

Resistance is a term introduced to me by The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Essentially, resistance is that nasty voice in your head that says that you’re nothing, you suck, who are YOU to do this awesome thing that you really want to do.

Todd Herman also talks about resistance, by the way of vibration. When you are changing a habit, you are changing your biology. Neat, huh?

Lifestyle changes are biggies.

Say you want to get up and move (gym, swim, yoga, walk, dance, whatevs.)

The first day you do it. YEAH! Feelin good.

The second day NAILED IT!

The third, your draggin ass, but you make it.

4th….eh, I don’t feel so good. Might as well sleep in.

And the fifth….fuggedaboudit. 

Recognize it?

Take heart. You aren’t alone.

Your body is used to doing things a certain way. It’s used to a certain chemical makeup. When you change a habit, you start giving it different chemicals (say, serotonin, the feel good molecule, for example). It gets excited. Your body really digs serotonin.

But it’s used to less serotonin. So it literally has to change it’s shape of its cells to get that goodness going. Your body has to vibrate differently (seriously) to change the receptor sites to allow that serotonin through.  That change in vibration and shape…that’s resistance.

And it can feel like crap.

So, here’s how you beat it.

You thank it.

Well, thank you, Resistance! You’re here to show me I’m onto something. This thing I’m doing, it’s gonna be good for me. You’re here to see if I’m up to it.

I am.

It takes some awareness, and you probably won’t catch it 100% of the time.But thanking Resistance will help send it slinking back to its corner. Sometime you just gotta slap a smile on your face and keep going. Smile and say thank you. Even if that smile is only momentary, and completely in your head.

Resistance can take you way away from how you want to feel. Remember, It’s the sensation of change in your body. Your habits are simply repetitions. Things you’ve done over and over until they become second nature.

Habits are just…habits.

They don’t have to be good or bad. Because a habit (or pattern) is just the thing you did over and over because it was safe. Or the right thing to do, in that moment. You made a choice, consciously or unconsciously. And then you did it again. And again. Again.

From popping your knuckles to getting up early to go swimming every day, our habits are just the repetitions that stuck with us.

And if you are attempting to change a habit, (or create a new one) you’ll hit resistance.

But what if you just recognize Resistance for what it is; a sign that you’re on the right track. Give it a sincere thank you, and send it on it’s way. It might not be so much a fuck off, as a buhbyenow.

Do this every time you catch Resistance dragging you down, and you’ll be that much closer to creating something you want in your life, and feeling how you want to feel.

And feeling good? That’s the goal.

“Your resistance is a sign that your system is reconfiguring itself toward success.”

-Todd Herman

Catch the whole Todd Herman interview here. He also has some great tips for creating change, in spite of Resistance.

Steven Pressfield’s books are all about success in the face of Resistance. Check out The War of Art and Turning Pro.

Full disclosure: there are affiliate links in this post, I only affiliate with products that I use myself and absolutely adore.