You know how it goes: you want to make changes to improve your life but you just can’t get yourself to take action. Instead, you resist.
You know that changing your daily habits would be good for you, but you resist.
You know that forgiving and releasing old hurts would bring you improved results and healing all around, but you resist.
You know that even five minutes of yoga every day would be much better for you than your usual “couch yoga,” but you resist.
Every one of us resists our good at some point. So here is a quick tip I discovered years ago that will help you out if you are currently resisting making positive changes in your life: willingness trumps resistance.
It seems deceptively simple, but it is true. If willingness was “rock” and resistance was “scissors” then willingness wins every time.*
So for example, let’s say you are resistant towards letting go of an old flame. You know it is in your best interests to let go and move on, but you resist the idea. You don’t want to let go, and you wouldn’t even know how to let go even if you did want to. Well then you use The Willingness Formula and you say to yourself, over and over again: I am willing to let go.
Or, let’s say you are resistant to forgiving some past hurt that someone caused you. You know it is in your best interests to forgive but you resist. You don’t want to let that person “off the hook” and anyway, you wouldn’t know how to forgive even if you did want to. Well then you use The Willingness Formula and you say to yourself, over and over again: I am willing to forgive.
You get this picture.
Willingness acts like WD-40 to the resistant areas of our lives. You may not see a way forward from where you are, and you may not even want to move forward, but if you spray enough willingness around the place then things can’t help but start to shift.
I used this formula myself when my body was sick and doctors turned me away as a hopeless case. I found a fleeting mention of willingness in a book and started telling myself, over and over again, “I am willing to heal.”
I didn’t know how to heal my body, but I was willing. Sure enough, the right books, teachers and classes came into my life to guide me back to health.
Willingness trumps resistance.
Whenever I have a coaching client who is resistant to their good, I give them The Willingness Formula to work on. Sooner or later, there will be enough willingness spread around that things will just start sliding in to place.
How to use The Willingness Formula in your own life:
- What positive changes are you resisting?
- Adapt The Willingness Formula for your particular situation: e.g. I am willing to finish my book. I am willing to prosper. I am willing to exercise. I am willing to eat healthily.
- If you have multiple resistances you could you the catch-all version: I am willing to change.
- Say The Willingness Formula daily for several minutes until you see a shift in your resistance.
- Enjoy!
Louise x
