4 ms·
This article first says that this phenomenon is not "something that’s wrong with us or our behaviour, something that needs to be controlled, eradicated, tamed,
by spicyusername 5y ago
This article first says that this phenomenon is not "something that’s wrong with us or our behaviour, something that needs to be controlled, eradicated, tamed, left behind or put in its place."
Then it immediately defines a new term "internal resistance" that's exactly defined as something that's "a part of us" and explains how to work around it or "tame it".
- gala8y 5y agoMaybe it isn't to clear, but the author tries to go in the direction of not fighting it. > 1. Recognise that internal resistance is on your side. Part of what is so awful about the cycle-of-not-doing-the-thing is that it feels so self-destructive. But internal resistance does not want to destroy us; it literally wants the opposite! It only exists to protect us from pain. also > There’s another reason why I think we should treat internal resistance as a form of wisdom rather than a malevolent opponent. It holds a lot of knowledge about what we secretly believe we might be able to do. I think it is very beneficial to see this 'Resistance' as a force inside you, mostly trying to keep the status quo, for your benefit, unfortunately sometimes to the point of halting you in all things possible. Maybe I am reading to much into this article with my already set up view, but my view is to recognize this part in us, that does not want things done/changed and acknowledge its existence (which we often want to ignore, bypass), explore possible why's. This can be a really intimate experience, the a-ha moment. The first (and most important step) would be acknowledgment of its existence.
- zepto 5y agoI think the article does just set up a new pathology. Your read is much more benign. The article’s set up is actually quite harmful and disempowering. It identifies resistance as a bundle of fears and pain to be overcome in order to be able to ‘just do’ the thing you are trying to do. Obviously sometimes fear and pain do exist, and acceptance and awareness of them makes it easier to move forward. However most of the time I have found that the reason people find themselves ‘resisting’ things they want to do is that they lack some pragmatic knowledge of what the next step should be and how to incorporate the overall goal into whatever else they are doing. People who have learned that resistance means they need to let go of fear or pain can get caught in a loop of looking for emotional blocks where none exist, rather than just educating themselves on the problem. ‘You aren’t lazy, you just haven’t done the necessary prep and planning to make the thing you want to do feel straightforward’ might be just as useful advice.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- gala8y 5y ago> Your read is much more benign. I think I wanted to see more in this article. I think the idea of acknowledging this part of us and seeing it as a positive force is not conveyed clearly enough, but it's there. > ‘You aren’t lazy, you just haven’t done the necessary prep and planning to make the thing you want to do feel straightforward’ might be just as useful advice. Yes. This would be a subset of "it's too difficult (emotionally, organizationally, in terms of ability/skill) for me to do all this stuff the way I never did before" - emotions of discomfort arise (said 'Resistance') and boom, you are back to square one (edit: ...of not doing things).
- joombaga 5y agoI'm sorry, I don't get it. I want to accomplish tasks. "Internal resistance" is the label we're putting on the mental phenomenon preventing me from doing so. It is something I want to fight. When I do accomplish my tasks, it's because my internal resistance is not there to fight back. But if I had a way to fight it when it's there (e.g. medication with manageable side effects) then I would use it. I'd wield that weapon.