Using the Law of Attraction to overcome resistance is the corollary to Like Attracts Like, the First Law of Attraction.
The idea is that if you have positive thoughts, then you’ll attract positive things. If you have negative thoughts, then you’ll attract negative things.
So let’s take a look at why we resist doing things that we know we would be better off doing, such as exercising or paying down your credit card debts. Most people don’t do these things because they seem hard or difficult or require effort or may even feel painful. If it is hard or difficult to do, then we might find ourselves procrastinating indefinitely. We can overcome resistance.
You’ll find the things you resist will persist. In fact, they may even get worse. This is because of all the negative energy you are putting toward not doing something.
For example, if you resist your credit card debt, you will not get out of debt. You are very likely to get deeper in debt.
What are the signs that you are resisting your credit card debt?
Here are a few: 1) You cringe every time you get what looks like a credit card bill in the mail and don’t open it; 2) When you open the bill, you are shocked that it is higher than you realized; 3) You have never sat down and added up your total debt; 4) You are consistently using your overdraft protection on your checking account; 5) You may have tried a few get rich quick schemes or multi-level marketing businesses.
These are all indications that you are resisting your credit card debt. If you want your debt to go away, you must overcome resistance.
The first step is to realize that it is perfect that you have debt. You don’t have to like it, but it is perfect. Your debt is showing you that you have not yet learned how to manage money properly and respectfully. Or, it could be an indication that you have unmet emotional needs driving you to spend excessively. Or, perhaps you had inadequate health insurance and put your medical bills on your credit card? Instead of ignoring (a form of resistance) your debt, you need to acknowledge it, know all about it (how much?) and create a plan for handling it. (See the brilliant book, How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt and Live Prosperously by Jerrold Mundis for precise instructions that work.) Then, you will have overcome your resistance and taken the first step on the road to financial freedom and independence.
Or let’s take another thing we commonly resist: exercise and diet. I know because, after giving birth to my second daughter, I have resisted going on a diet and exercising. And, as a result, no surprise, the weight didn’t come off. In fact, I got heavier. Now that I’ve broken through my reluctance to do something in the way of exercise and diet, I am on the way to recovering my figure.
How to overcome resistance?
First, there is inspiration. Sometimes we can get inspired by someone or something and that gives us a burst of motivation and energy and off we go. The danger with relying on inspiration to fuel your effort is that it is often short-lived. Yes, by all means, grab inspiration wherever you can find it and then immediately leverage it by setting up a rock-solid structure for support.
Second, the most common way to overcome resistance is to use willpower. The problem with using willpower is that it is costly. It takes a lot of energy to use willpower and that makes it very likely that you won’t be able to sustain this method for overcoming resistance.
Third, you can tackle resistance head on by getting as much support as you possibly can. Line up an unbeatable team to support you and go for it. Start small, but start. The moment you start, you’ve overcome resistance that day, even if that means you went for a five-minute walk at lunch time.
Every day you will wake up and resistance will be there waiting and ready to knock you down and claim its victory if you let it. However, every day that you fight back you have won another round. The more rounds you win, the easier it gets until eventually you create a habit that will destroy resistance. Learn more about breaking bad habits and establishing good habits here.
Finally, there is another way around resistance. That is to put in place a much bigger goal that dissolves all resistance.
For example, instead of a goal to get out of debt (a negative, not very fun sounding goal), try putting in place a goal to be financially independent and retire early. Now that is a goal worth getting excited about! Then, getting out of debt becomes a minor piece of a much greater, exciting plan. Or weight loss. No one can get excited about weight loss or dieting—it sounds restrictive and boring and makes us feel deprived. But, put in place a much larger goal and the weight loss part of it becomes automatic. For example, put in place a goal to run the NY Marathon, or win a dance competition or simply, a goal for Ultimate Self Care which includes a nutritionist, regular massages, manicures, pedicures, physical activity that you love such as horseback riding, swimming, dancing, etc., all to be rewarded with a new wardrobe selected by a personal image consultant. Now that sounds like fun!
Both approaches can work—you can beat resistance by tackling it head on or you can beat it by going around it with a much bigger, appealing goal. Personally, the fun way of finding a bigger goal that encompasses your little goal is usually not only easier, but more likely to be successful. No need to beat yourself up or struggle at all. In fact, the less struggle, the better!
P.S. To learn more about reaching our goals by side-stepping resistance and leveraging the laws of attraction, check out our wonderful online life coaching course for a rock solid structure for support.
