Estimated Reading Time 8 Minutes
Hey you! Welcome to the Vibrant Life Podcast. I’m your host, Emily Romrell, and I hope you’re having a happy day. I am. Last weekend was General Conference and I really enjoyed it. The inspiring messages always motivate me to continue giving my best effort in life. Spring has sprung in Utah and the weather has been great. I’ve got a few whiffs of freshly mown grass and the birds are out in full force to serenade me in the mornings. I love seeing the world wake up in Spring. Summer is going to be here before we know it.
Time waits for no one, and if you’d like to be more productive, consider using The Vibrant Life Goal Planner. It’s an all-inclusive journal and day planner that I created for my own personal progress, and I think you’ll be surprised how much it can aid your own efforts to manage this crazy life. A video overview of the planner and links to buy one are included in the show notes.
I’m doing very well, but I’m not going to lie. The last few months have been trying for me. I’ve been working hard to believe in myself and my goals. This podcast is a product of those efforts. But I’ve also been feeling the tension between who I am and who I want to be. And then there’s those pesky demons of doubt that love to swoop in and stop us in our tracks, sort of like the Wrackspurts in Harry Potter. Wrackspurts are invisible beings that get into your brain leaving you confused and unable to focus. I guess J.K. Rowling knew what she was writing about. So today, we’re going to be discussing resistance.
Resistance is a powerful force and though we tend to view it negatively, it’s actually a super beneficial part of life. Think about resistance training. Most of us use weights or, ahem, resistance bands to exercise at some point. Cardio workouts are important too, but the point of resistance training is that it builds muscle. Building muscle is a big deal, especially if you want to lose weight. Adding muscle increases your body’s metabolism. And you may already know this but just to make the point, your metabolism is the process in your body that converts food to energy. It also plays a big role in your body’s ability to heal and repair itself, as well as making sure all of your systems run smoothly. So when we talk about metabolism we’re literally talking about the quality of life. Muscles burn most of the calories we eat. So strong muscles are a must and…duh, duh, duh resistance training is essential to a healthy lifestyle.
Two excellent synonyms for resistance are tension and conflict. If you are a writer or if you love stories, then you know that tension and conflict are essential to any tale. Tension tends to mean an internal struggle or something not obvious but that can definitely be felt. It could be guilt from telling a lie, the romantic tension between characters, or unmet expectations. Conflict is outright opposition. It could be a physical fight, an adversary that you have to outmaneuver, or even the weather preventing you from getting where you need to go. The point is if you don’t have tension and conflict you don’t have a story. You may have an anecdote, which is simply something that happens. But you only truly have a story when there is some kind of transformation. You were happy, now you’re sad. You were alone, now you belong to a group. You were lost, now you are found. There can be no transformation without tension or conflict aka resistance. Just like physical muscles need resistance to stretch and grow, resistance in stories creates the change needed to get from A to B.
One of the best teachers of resistance is Steven Pressfield. He’s a talented fiction writer, but is probably best known for his nonfiction works about writing and being an artist. I like his whole series but The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles is my favorite. The title of this book is a reference to The Art Of War by Sun Tzu which is also excellent and has similar principles. Anyway, in The War of Art, Pressfield’s definition of resistance is exquisite. I’m just going to read you a few excerpts because he says it so well:
Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet…To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be. If you believe in God (and I do) you must declare Resistance evil, for it prevents us from achieving the life God intended when He endowed each of us with our own unique genius. Genius is a Latin word; the Romans used it to denote an inner spirit, holy and inviolable, which watches over us, guiding us to our calling. A writer writes with his genius; an artist paints with hers; everyone who creates operates from this sacramental center. It is our soul’s seat, the vessel that holds our being-in-potential, our star’s beacon and Polaris.
Pressfield, S. (2012). The war of art: Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles. New York, NY: Black Irish Entertainment, LLC.
A little later he gives this example:
You know, Hitler wanted to be an artist. At eighteen he took his inheritance, seven hundred Kronen, and moved to Vienna to live and study. He applied to the Academy of Fine Arts and later to the School of Architecture. Ever see one of his paintings? Neither have I. Resistance beat him. Call it an overstatement, but I’ll say it anyway: it was easier for Hitler to start World War II than it was for him to face a blank square of canvas.
Pressfield, S. (2012). The war of art: Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles. New York, NY: Black Irish Entertainment, LLC.
There are links to buy this book in the show notes. You won’t regret getting a copy.
I obviously can’t read the whole thing to you, but I do want to repeat Pressfield’s list: Resistance’s Greatest Hits.
The following is a list, in no particular order, of those activities that most commonly elicit Resistance:
1) The pursuit of any calling in writing, painting, music, film, dance, or any creative art, however marginal or unconventional.2) The launching of any entrepreneurial venture or enterprise, for profit or otherwise.
3) And diet or health regimen.
4) Any program of spiritual advancement
5) Any activity whose aim is tighter abdominals.
6) Any course or program designed to overcome an unwholesome habit or addiction
7) Education of any kind
8) Any act of political, moral, or ethical courage, including the decision to change for the better some unworthy pattern of thought or conduct in ourselves.
9) The undertaking of any enterprise or endeavor whose aim is to help others.
10) Any act the entails commitment of the heart. The decision to get married, to have a child, to weather a rocky patch in a relationship.
11) The taking of any principled stand in the face of adversity.
In other words, any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity. Or, expressed another way, any act that derives from our higher nature instead of our lower. Any of these will elicit Resistance.Pressfield, S. (2012). The war of art: Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles. New York, NY: Black Irish Entertainment, LLC.
You really should read the book. It’s only 165 pages long, but it will change your life.
The point is, anytime you put in the effort to better yourself or live up to your higher nature, you will encounter resistance. When this happens we often choose to see resistance as a red flag that stops us from continuing the fight. Don’t do it! Rather see the struggle as a signpost that you are on the right path. You are climbing the mountain of self-discovery and personal development. It’s not easy but it’s not supposed to be.
This is life. In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, we believe that there “Must Be Opposition in All Things“. One of our scriptures in The Book Of Mormon talks about this. Lehi is a prophet who is giving his sons some last words of wisdom before he dies. He explains why opposition is so critical:
For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
2 Nephi 2:11, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. (n.d.). Salt Lake City, UT: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Without opposition or resistance, growth and change are impossible. We can’t understand happiness or sadness or anything in between. Without resistance, life would be meaningless.
Okay, I am a nerd and proud of it. I love Star Trek. And in Star Trek, the most nefarious enemy they encounter are the Borg. The Borg are cyborgs, living beings who are enhanced by machine implants in their bodies. But the real threat is that they are a collective or a hive mind. There is no individuality. There is only the collective. And the Borg scour the universe looking for ways to become more perfect. If a species is advanced enough, they assimilate them while explaining, “We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own.” The Borg are terrifying. But what is really interesting is their catchphrase ” Resistance is Futile”. Fascinating, right? This is one of the biggest lies ever.
There are many times in life where we are told that resistance is futile. Big organizations don’t want to be challenged. Have you ever heard people talk about going up against “The Man” which means the people in power?
Often times even friends and family might tell us that we can’t do something. In the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith plays a dad trying to make a better life for his son. But he tells his son that he probably won’t be very good at basketball which is his kid’s dream. He tells his son this while he is pursuing his own dreams with everything he’s got. But he catches himself and then advises, “Don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t do something. Not even me.” It’s a good reminder. Resistance is an indication you are on a good path and should move forward.
Think of all the peaceful resisters who have changed the world. Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Buddha, and of course the best example in my opinion is Jesus Christ. These are the big examples, but there is also the friend who sticks up for you when you’re being bullied. There is the neighbor who invites a family who may sadly be experiencing prejudice to a BBQ. There are millions of parents and teachers out there who help children know the difference between right and wrong. You can resist in small ways and make a huge impact.
The biggest way you make a difference is by being true to who you are. Follow that higher nature within you. What is it that you feel called to do? It probably scares the heck out of you. That means you’re on the right track. Just live your life the best that you can and understand that resistance is part of the game. It is difficult. But it makes the game worth playing.
Thanks for listening peeps. Have a fabulous week and Live The Vibrant Life!
