“The secret to fighting Resistance is quite simple: ignore it. When you are trying to move forward in your mission and you hear messages that are discouraging, divisive, or devaluing, shoo them away like buzzing mosquitoes. . . . This, of course, is easier said than done.”- Jennifer Fulwiler
As Jennifer Fulwiler continues Chapter 7 of Your Blue Flame, she tells about the three ‘voices’ of Resistance.
1. Discouraging. When you discourage someone, in effect you take away their courage. Certainly, no good force would do that. Thus, good friends help you when you’re down. So, there’s one thing you can take to the bank when you feel bombarded by feelings of helplessness. Those feelings didn’t originate in a good place.
2. Divisive. While love unites, evil divides. Hence, Resistance uses a favorite technique to attack us when we try to use our blue flame. It takes our passion and distorts it into a force that propels us away from others. For example, rather than celebrate the successes of others using their blue flames, we wallow in jealousy. Jennifer explains:
“Resistance can also take your good intentions and use them to cause strife in your personal life. . . . It’s normal to want to have time to do the work you love, but if you consistently find that it’s causing tension between you and the main people in your life, you can be sure that’s not how you were meant to use this gift. . . . If you find that this work is breeding feelings of hostility toward others in any form, you can be sure that you are under attack from Resistance.”
3. Devaluing. Left unchecked, Resistance whispers increasingly personal messages. First, it tells you what you do is worthless. Next, if you permit that idea to gain traction, it moves on to infer that you’re worthless. As a result, the author stresses, “Resistance isn’t content simply to let you question the worth of your blue flame, it wants you to question your worth as a human being.”
Finally, the big R’s not a static force. Instead, think of it as an invading army that only grows more powerful if you give it any space at all.
Today’s question: How would you describe the secret to fighting Resistance? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Inoculate yourself from the poison of Resistance”
