Resistance

to Better Health

You have the desire to get better. To improve your health. To finally reach that health goal you set for yourself every 6 months. To finally clean out that pantry and get rid of the foods that are holding you back. To set your alarm for 5 am so you can get up and go to the gym. To say no to the alcoholic drink at dinner. To put away your phone when you are feeling stressed and spend time in meditation instead.

But you keep falling short. We all do.

Why is that though?

Why is it that despite a strong urge to take control of our health we find ourselves time and time again failing to do so? Failing to make the changes required to become the person we want to be?

You may be thinking it’s that you are tired. Sure that’s part of it. Or maybe it’s that you constantly have cravings for junk food. That’s part of it too. Or maybe it’s some other addiction that you can’t seem to beat that is getting in your way. I’m sure there is some truth to that as well.

If we can be real with each other for a second though, at the end of the day these are all just excuses. Excuses that are preventing you from leaving the old you behind and blossoming into a new person that can more easily stick to the plan and do the things required to look better, feel better, and reduce your risk of chronic disease.

Excuses are a form of resistance. Our brains and bodies naturally want to take the path of least resistance. It is evolutionarily ingrained in us to do so. We want to stay on the easy path. We want to stick with what is comfortable. With what makes us feel good.

Anytime we want to make a big change in our lives we are going to be met with resistance. It’s natural and we should expect it. This resistance will tell us that there is plenty of time to make this change. Or that maybe we don’t really need to change at all. Or maybe we should just ease into a change. Try it on and see if we like it.

Excuses. Resistance.

To become the person each of us desires to be, we have to become masters at beating resistance. We have to expect that it is going to try to get in the way of our progress and arm ourselves with the appropriate tools to prevent it from doing so. We have to fight that urge to hit the snooze button when it’s time to get to the gym. We have to quiet that voice in our head that says to just wait until Monday to start that diet. We even have to actively pay attention to the natural tendency we will have to choose comfort and ease over difficulty and growth in nearly everything we try to accomplish.

Fighting resistance is an active task. Being passive won’t cut it. It sure as hell won’t be easy. But it sure as hell will be worth it.

Thanks for reading,

Chris Irvin

P.S. One of my favorite books about resistance and how to put yourself in a mindset of beating it is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. If you feel like resistance is holding you back, I highly recommend picking up a copy and making reading it a part of your daily routine.