In Resistance? Move the Body

"Move the body and the mind and spirit will follow.  Most of us have it the other way around.  I know I did for years.  I thought I always had to have it right in my mind and spirit before I DO anything adventurous .... like go for a long run, or create a successful career ... But the body can go first.  Like Emerson says, 'do the thing and you shall have the power'."                                

                                                                                                         - Steve Chandler

“I just don't feel like it.” 

“I'm too tired right now.” 

“I will do it when I am more inspired.”

How many times in your life have you not taken action because of thoughts about your "feelings" like the ones above? 

Please don't misunderstand me.  As a student of Spiritual Psychology, I understand the importance of getting in touch with our feelings; to truly embrace the emotions such as anger, resentment and fear that we have repressed from our past that are currently holding us back today. 

But these are not the type of feelings I am talking about.  

The feelings I am talking about here are our fears of failure, of being vulnerable or being exposed and even our fear of success that hold us back from taking the action on the things that we most desire in our lives.   

Our egos were designed to protect us.  When we create inside ourselves the rationalization of "I don't feel like it or it's just not the right time or I will get to it tomorrow," it is often our ego's way of protecting us from taking risks it believes may bring us discomfort or even harm.

In coaching speak, this often referred to as getting out of our comfort zones.

I think comfort zones sometimes get a bad rap.  After a long and productive day at work, you may want to sit in your recliner or out on your deck and relax comfortably.  That is a healthy expression of self-care.

What you don’t want to do is to “pitch a tent” in that comfort zone, or worse yet, “build a four-bedroom home” that keeps you entrenched and avoiding going for what you want only because it is uncomfortable to get moving.

As a martial student and athlete, I have to admit, there were times I did not always feel like training.  I did not always feel like stretching, kicking pads, doing forms (classical exercises) or sparring. 

However, what I found time and again, was the simple act of taking the first step in my training, despite how I was feeling, provided the momentum I needed to not only complete my training session, but to actually enjoy it.  In fact, many times the days I least felt like training and did it anyways, became my most productive workouts.

In one of my favorite books, The War of Art, author Steven Pressfield addresses the challenge of Resistance that plagues all writers (and each of us) and shares his wisdom on how to overcome this foreboding obstacle. 

In it, he quotes author Somerset Maugham who when asked if he wrote on a schedule or when struck by inspiration (when he felt like it) quipped, 

"I write only when inspiration strikes.  Fortunately, it strikes every morning at 9 am sharp."

This week I challenge all of us, when confronted by the resistance of "not feeling like it" that the ego brings our way, to move our bodies (or pens, or fingers on computer keys, or make the phone call, or have the conversation) and take the actions we know will best serve us.

All it takes is one small action to start the momentum that can bring us one step closer to our dreams.     

It's getting close to 9 am.  Time to go get inspired.

Chris Natzke

Black Belt Leadership Speaking & Coaching

PS:  If you have finally decided to get moving and experience a BREAKTHROUGH in your life, check out my new program, the Mind of a Champion Breakthroughs Mini-Course.