Making It Happen in 2024

Are you back in action yet?   You likely spent the past while making plans, resting, restoring and getting ready for 2024.   The first week of January has now passed and if you haven’t gotten back into action yet, you need to read this post.   

Resistance is a law of nature that everyone experiences.   Resistance is that little voice in our head and that tells us we can’t, or we shouldn’t.   Resistance is our desire to chase the shiny object instead of doing the work.  Resistance is our anxiety, our avoidance, our justification, our addictions.   Resistance is the enemy.  Your ability to understand, accept and overcome your resistance is key to your success and happiness. 

The only difference between highly successful people and the mediocre ones is the ability to devise a method of overcoming resistance.   

Resistance is like gravity.  It exists.  For everyone.  The greatest artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists, all experience resistance.   (the exception might be psychopaths).   

Resistance shows up when we have a dream, a vision, or a goal.  It shows up with equal and opposite force.   Whether you want to sail the south pacific, create remarkable art, run a marathon or be successful in real estate, what stands between your current life and the one you desire is resistance. 

To overcome resistance is a personal journey.   There is no magic bullet, no hack, no short cuts.   Just like an energy drink won’t give you a six pack, an online course won’t eliminate your resistance.    

Only the hard work of doing the thing will get you there.   The only way through, is through. 

Here are some steps that seem to be working for me and many of the people I work with as a coach.

1.  Understand and accept resistance.  It’s real, it’s powerful and it isn’t going away.
2. Have a strong enough WHY.  If your goals are simply a nice to have, you are unlikely to find the strength to overcome the resistance.
3. Turn Pro (From Steven Pressfield’s Book Turning Pro) Professional athletes show up every day, persist, handle adversity, and play even when hurt. 
4. Master your craft.  Do the work to be excellent at what you do.
5. Choose your attitude and mindset consciously every day.
6. Embark on the Heroes Journey. (see below)
7. Goggins it. (see further below)

Interestingly, I am experiencing more resistance than usual right now.   I’m not sure why but I am sure that I will overcome it.  There are two ideas that I am using to help me get in and stay in action towards my personal and professional goals.

The first is the Heroes Journey.  The Heroes Journey is a template for a story that has been told throughout time and across cultures.    In a nutshell, it’s a call to greatness, followed by a rejection of the call (resistance), the meeting of a mentor and the acceptance of the challenge.   From there, a series of complex experiences occur, the main character confronts the villain and wins. He then heads home triumphant and serves as a positive inspiration to his community.  This structure, identified by Joseph Campbell in “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” is well illustrated in the Star Wars movies, the Wizard of Oz and many other classical stories.

The second thing that is helping me is Goggins. Yes, David Goggins.   His assertive, cursing no nonsense approach is refreshing to me right now.   Being extraordinary is hard work and his message helps me get to the gym, run in bad weather, write when it’s hard and work towards the future I want.  

If you are committed to overcoming your resistance, embarking on the heroes’ journey and obtaining your best life in 2024 and beyond, join me.   It’s going to be a great ride. 

“A warrior is a guy that goes ‘I’m here again today. I’ll be here again tomorrow and the next day.’ It’s a person who puts no limit on what’s possible.” 

David Goggins