Have you noticed yourself resisting taking steps and making decisions that would be perfectly good for you and your business? It’s frustrating isn’t it? Especially when, in many cases, the task or activities you’re avoiding are not actually that difficult - and could lead to fantastic business benefits.

RESISTANCE IS USEFUL

Author Seth Godin calls resistance the lizard brain. That insidious aspect of ourselves that instils hesitancy, fear, and the tendency to be a stick in the mud.

He reckons that, “The resistance grows in strength as … we get closer to an insight, as we get closer to the truth of what we really want. That's because the lizard hates change and achievement and risk”.

In other words, if you’re experiencing a lot of resistance, you must be damn close to a breakthrough!

It’s time to change resistance from foe into friend. Here are some of the strategies that work for me and my coaching clients.

NOTICE WHAT'S GOING ON FOR YOU

The first step is as easy as noticing what’s going on for you, without getting judgemental, naggy or critical about it.

I find that if I simply say to myself, “Gee, I’m very resistant to that idea” it has a disabling effect on the lizard’s power to hold me back, and often propels me into quickly getting on with whatever it is that I’ve been spinning my wheels over.

Part of the reason this happens is that when we pay attention to the resistance, we also allow ourselves to become more aware of its cause - and in many cases, the culprit is our subconscious mind, doing its best to keep us safe.

Once you realise that your resistance is one of your mind’s ways of keeping you safe, you can also assess whether there really is a risk involved in taking action.

Sometimes your hesitancy is just your subconscious operating from an abundance of misguided caution, while at others, there’s something uncomfortable associated with taking action that you’d be wise to explore and work through.

DROP THE "SHOULDS"

Pay attention to how frequently the word “should” features in the mental chatter that accompanies whatever you’re resisting.

It’s a sneaky thing “should”. In the last few days alone, I “should” have done more exercise, finished a project, sorted out my tax, and signed up for a new app I want to try out. Can you relate?

For me, “should” has become a signpost that reads “Here be lizard brain”. When I notice it coming up in my mental chatter often, I ask myself whether I’d actually like to participate in the urge in question and if I did, whether I’d like the outcome.

REVISIT YOUR MISSION AND VALUES

One of the ways I encourage my coaching clients to get into an action-taking mindset when they’re feeling stuck is to bring their attention back to the things that are most important to them - their mission (what they want to achieve) and their values (how they want to live their lives).

When you can draw a clear line between the activity you’ve been avoiding and the destination you’re aiming for, you’re much more likely to find meaning and purpose in it.

And that inspires you to push ahead - even if it sometimes feels difficult or scary.

If you’re fed up with feeling stuck and are ready to get moving with your marketing, get in touch with me for a chat about whether my marketing coaching is suitable for you.