What You Resist Will Persist

There’s a saying, “What you resist will persist.” This saying is true in many areas of life and can seem especially true when we are attempting to create new habits and behaviors.

As we focus on creating a health change our attention and energy is often directed to resisting our old habits, tempting foods and even our own laziness.

When faced with an unwanted thing or behavior our first reaction is to resist the temptation and tell ourselves “no”. The act of resistance feels as if we are pushing something away. As we focus our attention and energy on resisting the object of our desire, the temptation actually grows.

Consider this, “The things you embrace tend to erase”. When I work with clients on techniques to shift behaviors we often focus on ways to embrace the old behaviors and temptations. Discovering ways to embrace our “old ways” while we create new behaviors will clear our path to lasting change.

When I work with clients, we really focus in these areas. As a first step, this week make it a point to notice what you’re resisting. Does resistance feel like you are pushing something away? Do the things you are resisting tend to persist? How could you embrace these things and transform them into tools that will help you achieve your goals?