I have been staring at this stack of books for… months. There is a list of people to send them to, and the books are right there.
So tell me… why have I not just written a note and given them to Charlie to send off? It seems easy enough right?
Resistance!!!
On Saturday, I was pondering my resistance while watching some complicated training on email marketing, concocting training materials and working out.
One of our Emerge Surge members asked a question about how does she reach out to people she doesn’t feel comfortable reaching out to, and that she was feeling a lot of resistance. She asked for suggestions.
So I answered the question with a bunch of things I do to break through resistance. All while staring at the stack of books. Oh the irony. I responded to the question, and then wrote out the notes in the 9 books I had in front of me. It took me 15 minutes.
What the heck. I talked to Charlie that night and he asked about the books. I pondered, “what do you think is the core of my resistance here?” I was thinking there must be some deep rooted impostor syndrome around my book, or being worried I wouldn’t say the right thing, or having issues that I couldn’t go to the post office and we didn’t have our shipping solution sorted yet.
He responded, “you just don’t like to do tedious things.” We mused and he teased me about how I can write a book but “not have time” to open my mail.
I was trying to make my resistance a really deep thing, but really, I just needed to get started and the resistance was gone.
Today, I’m going to pose to you the best way to break through resistance. Take a baby step.
We have coached over 8000 people, and I’ve seen many manifestations of resistance. I’m curious if you can relate to any of these.
- reaching out to potential customers
- reaching out to previous customers
- ok really, reaching out to anyone
- creating content for social media (it took me 20 minutes of procrastinating to get to writing this one)
- making checklists or outlines for your team to do better
- sending out the mail
Resistance can be anything.
Let’s start with some really simple things to understand about resistance.
- It’s normal. Our mind takes on average 20 minutes to get into some sort of flow. This is from what’s called “context switching.” Context switching is when you switch from one thing to the next. It takes some time for you to recalibrate.
- It’s normal. Everyone has resistance and having resistance does not mean there is something wrong with you, or that you aren’t going to be successful.
- It’s normal. And it’s important to find the root cause of the resistance. Are you like most high performers who don’t like what feels like tedious work? Is fear holding you back? Are you not sure what to say so you are stuck? Do you feel uncomfortable but in the way where something doesn’t feel right? Taking a few minutes and asking yourself, “what is the core reason for my resistance?” is helpful. For me in this story, it was more about this feeling of, “I don’t wanna!” like a baby having a temper tantrum. Mature, I know! But once I wrote the first note, I started to enjoy writing nice things to my clients. Starting was the most important thing.
My best tips on overcoming resistance?
- Are you being a baby? This is my most common. Make it a game. Just do it. This is for tedious tasks that don’t require much thinking.
- Are you not sure what to say and this is creating resistance? Acknowledge the awkward to start and that will break the ice. Or don’t worry about the outcome. Shift your goal from “trying to get an appointment” to “just say hi, how are you?” It’s a step in the right direction. Write a rough draft and post in the Emerge Surge. That’s your biz coach in your pocket. USE IT!
- Still feeling stuck? Reach out and tell someone you have resistance. Just admitting it takes away a lot of its power. I personally hire out my accountability. I tell them my goals and let my people pleasing nature take over to drive me through resistance. This is why I presell a lot of my courses- it breaks me through resistance.
- Are you staring at your phone or screen? Allow enough time for you to sit there, procrastinate and still do it. Don’t multitask to until you feel “motivated.” Motivation is not a cure for resistance. Just starting is the cure for resistance. So for instance today- in writing this podcast. I needed to not start working on other things. I needed to just sit at the screen, write one sentence. Then another. Then after a while it started flowing. Give yourself enough time for this process. it’s normal.
- Getting caught up in your own fears? Use your imagination to create success in your mind. Instead of using imagination towards the worst outcome, imagine the best! One of the quotes on my monitor is something my client Rebecca said on an interview I did. “Failure is always on the table. But so is success.”
Just as a quick recap- resistance is normal. Take a baby step. That’s all anyone can do until those little steps turn into bigger steps and then the next thing you know you are running!
Not sure where to start to work with us?
Step #1 – Download a FREE copy of “Customer First” at emergesalestraining.com/book or text “customerfirst” to 44222. The key to getting out of our own way is to put our customers first. It’s not a tactic, it’s a way of business. I am so passionate about this topic that I want you to have this book for free.
Step #2: Join our membership, “The Emerge Surge.” Surround yourself with the doers, use your “business coach in a pocket” to help you out of resistance. Learn more about membership at emergesalestraining.com/emergesurge.
Step #3 – Book a Free Call to Talk about One on One Coaching Options – If you aren’t getting the results in your business that you want or you want to expedite the results you are getting let’s chat. This option is for the most committed entrepreneurs. Email team@emergesalestraining.com to schedule.