Last week I shared about the concept of resisting nothing to reduce our suffering. Since resistance is something that comes up regularly for all of us who are growing, I’ve been studying it from several angles recently.
I guess I’ve created my own self-study Masters program for transformation and coaching. As I have more ways to smooth the way for my own change, then I also have new tested tools to share with my coaching clients!
One of my “required reading” books, “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard” by Chip and Dan Heath, asserts, “What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity.” They use a beautiful example about eating a healthier diet. We may resist “eating healthier” because we have no idea where to begin. They then cite a research study in which the two researchers decided to start with milk because whole milk is the single biggest source of saturated fat in the typical American diet.
They launched an ad campaign in two towns in West Virginia letting people know that one glass of whole milk has the same fat content as five strips of bacon. Who knew? They then asked people to switch to low-fat milk. Crystal clear: eat healthier by switching from whole milk to low-fat milk. Before the campaign, the market share of low-fat milk: 18%. After: 41%. Six months later: still 35%! Amazing . . .
My current resistance/clarity challenge: I’ve been resisting reaching out for help because I don’t want to “bother people.” In working with my own coach, we brought in some clarity: I now reach out every single day to at least three people, asking for something specific in which I would like help.
Occasionally, I don’t hear back from someone right away. And the rest of the time (80 or 90%), I am getting so much darn help – and having a great time with it! Not one person has yet told me that I’m bothering them!
So what about you? What are you currently resisting? I would love to help you melt that resistance with some crystal-clear clarity!
Feel free to call me on my direct line 303.399.8737, or post your comments here . . .
