Thriving Scholar — Executive Coaching & Leadership
Resistance
The Enemy and the Gift
Jaineel Mistry
I’m sat here at 9:18am on a Sunday morning in a park in Edinburgh battling one of the digest demons:
Resistance.
A nasty little f**cker that shows up in many ways in our lives. Particularly for artists, athletes and entrepreneurs.
A little backstory
I’ve had a disorganised week. Many curveballs and a long weekend trip up to Edinburgh.
So when I came to my newsletter here on Substack this week, it was non-existent.
I thought I’d write it on the 4 hour train journey up ‘but I had other things to do’
Last night I tried to write but nothing deeply called to me to write about.
This morning I went for a run at 7am thinking something will land but nothing came.
I mean, there’s many things I could write about. Millions of ideas. But nothing that came a deeper part of me.
I even had the thought whether I should turn to ChatGPT for inspiration, but I really am not called to churning something out from an LLM that is so close to my life’s work.
And this is really my life’s work.
The Paradox
This is the problem, the things we need to do the most in life, the things that life is wanting to express through us, is often what we face most resistance doing.
As Steven Pressfield writes in The War of Art:
“Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure itself; it will falsify; it will tell you you’re not ready, you’re not good enough, you can’t do it. Resistance will kill you if it can. It will not go away. But it can be beaten.”
The Turning Point
As I came back from my run, physically feeling alive but internally feeling empty from not knowing what to write about, I went up to my hotel room for a shower.
As I walked to my room I was reminded of the advice I so often give to my clients: inspiration often strikes when you sit down to do the work.
Earlier in the day I was floating around with the idea of skipping this week with many excuses:
All thoughts of resistance.
But in the shower I made a commitment. Sit down and write whatever comes.
And then it struck me. This was the thing I needed to write about today!!
From the reinforced commitment, the answer came.
Higher Vs Lower Self
This is the battle we all face.
Our higher self wants to run and work out. The lower self wants to stay in bed.
Our higher self wants to write and creatively express. The lower self wants to hide.
Our higher self wants to have the difficult conversations. The lower self wants to avoid pain and cling to comfort.
So, as I sit here, in this park, I’ve just left my family for 1 hour from a cafe. Three quarters into my black coffee, the caffeine is flowing through my system, writing music (Reflections by Alex Baranowski) gently flowing through my headphones.
I’m feeling a little more powerful. A little more alive, a little more confident as I’ve stuck to my commitment.
And more importantly, have beaten the little motherf***er that is…resistance.
The Hidden Gift
At the same time, I’m grateful for it.
Because resistance requires me to connect with the greater part of me that is bigger than fear.
These obstacles are gifts.
We build resilience through them.
We increase creative potential because of them.
We strengthen muscles, physically and mentally, by pushing against them.
And for the soul?
Resistance Is The Way
So, as I leave you to enjoy your Sunday, my questions to you are this:
Begin
When you are ready,
this is where to begin
If you feel aligned with this work and would like to explore whether it is the right fit, you are welcome to reach out. Every enquiry is read personally. If there is alignment, we will take the next step together.