Introducing Life's Resistance

 Once inside I looked at the dishes which now seemed easier to do than the once simple task of organizing the laundry. I decided however that the dishes should have to wait just a little bit longer too because I normally do dishes and laundry at the same time. Let’s face it. Both are kinda boring so if I soak the dishes while I fold a few clothes I feel like I’m getting more done. Getting things done feels so good, but man it’s hard. 

If you're familiar with the fitness world then you are familiar with resistance bands. Lately I have noticed that life tends to have invisible resistance bands that cling to simple everyday activities making them much more difficult than they need to be. For me those resistance bands are both physical, courtesy of fibromyalgia, and mental thanks to ADHD.

While I try to take the medication that might help remove some of the resistance caused by both these conditions, I am not convinced that my health is better for it. Side effects always seem to happen to me. Just the thought of twitching from Adderall gives me the creeps. 

What if I chose to notice the points of resistance in my day-to-day life and find ways to remove some of that resistance? 

What does resistance look like? I ask myself. 

Resistance can look like procrastination for big or little things. It can be as simple as something being too hard to do even if there is no good reason or no good reason that anyone but me will understand. Sometimes even the little things like hanging up a jacket or putting my boots where they belong can feel so hard thanks to points of resistance.

Points of resistance can be disguised as waiting for perfectionism, over-thinking potential outcomes, being too tired, and things simply feeling too hard. I can wind myself into a beautiful knot of fantasy that leaves me trapped inside the idea without my mind being flexible enough to bend its way out. 

How do my choices impact those points of resistance?

Every time I choose to do something, even the smallest things, I am  teaching my brain how to respond to those activities. Maybe when I think about finding the fun in my mountain of laundry I’m letting my mind get too far. 

If I tell myself over and over again that I cannot do something until everything is perfect then my brain will add resistance to activities until such time as I think things are perfect. This however I’m starting to believe is a trap, there is no such time as perfect. Tasks and fantasies can be broken into doable easy pieces. 

This makes sense to me. 

After all, if something is too heavy for me to lift then I simply lessen the weight and practice lifting a weight I can handle until my body is fit enough to lift more. Maybe my mind could be trained like this too.

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