By David Valentine, co-founder of Rethink
and partner/practitioner of the Veritas Lifestyle and Veritas Life Adventures
Everyday I wake up, the day has unlimited potential. I can choose to do what’s most important and life giving: Meditate, read, work-out, do incredible work at my job, and spend time with people who are most important to me. The problem is…as soon as I wake up Resistance meets me.
I capitalize Resistance for good reason, because I believe it to be a force that stands against us doing what is most important each and every day. Resistance wants to keep us from being who we are, and what we were created to do. You’ve met Resistance if you’ve ever tried a new diet or work out program. You know the voice telling you it’s too hot outside to go for a run? That’s Resistance in all of its glory. It’s the voice that employs some bit of logic to stop us from doing the things that will bring us the most satisfaction.
Here’s what Resistance tells me everyday I wake up, “You’ve got important work to do today. You run social media channels for a lot of your clients. It’s probably worth surfing the web a bit to see what’s trending to get your day started…. You need to write a few blogs today, but you need to get the perfect cup of coffee first, then find a good playlist to really set the atmosphere for creativity, your desk is a little disheveled clean it up first, maybe you need to read some articles to spur on your creativity…
Working out today, totally going to happen. You probably need to drink more water before you work out though. You are going to eat in 30 minutes, so you’re work out is going to suffer because you’re hungry. You’ll probably need to wait an hour to work out because you just ate.”
I’ve been working to beat Resistance everyday with one simple tactic.
Get stuff done.
Don’t wait until tomorrow, don’t surf the web, don’t wait until after lunch do it now. Get after the things that matter early and often. I write 3 pages every morning as soon as I get up. I wake up before Resistance does, and after he wakes up, to his dismay I’ve already accomplished something.
Today you can choose to beat Resistance by doing the things you were created to accomplish. Don’t listen to the voice telling you to put down the pen, pick up your phone, or pause before you work out. Today, get stuff done.
Disclaimer: A book I’ve been reading has been incredibly instrumental in helping in writing this blog. “The War Of Art” by Steven Pressfield speaks at length about Resistance, and how it stops us from accomplishing our goals, hopes, and dreams. I highly recommend it for anyone who is trying to achieve anything of significance.