Inertia is a BAD word. It can wreak havoc in your life. Sometimes getting out of bed and wearing your jogging shoes can seem to be the most difficult thing to do in life. Yet one day you are able to move yourself out of lethargy. You not only wear your shoes, you actually go for a 20 minute walk too. That day and the next day and the next day! You feel delighted. A sense of accomplishment engulfs you. The mega business order you bagged the previous week pales in comparison to the significance of this achievement! You tell yourself.. now only if I could continue this tomorrow and the day after and.. forever. And then disaster strikes!
The rain clouds appear out of nowhere. Or you sprain your leg. Or maybe you’re sent off on a week-long outstation tour. And you say.. “NO! After great difficulty I had gotten into this good routine and now it’s being disrupted even before I started following it properly! Maybe the morning walk won’t work out for me.. the evening gym routine is better..”. And guess what? You have to wait for another few months before you get into the evening routine!
Sounds familiar? Why is it that nature doesn’t seem to help us when we are all determined to change? It happens to us all the time doesn’t it? With great resolve, you decide to go on a diet and the next day you get an invitation for a mega party, one where you know the desert spread itself could send you into nirvana!
You’re a housewife and you finally decide you’ve got to get more active on Facebook and stay connected with your online friends. Barely a day after you start the routine the computer conks off. You decide that from today you’ll control your temper and be more calm and just then some bloke comes and does something so stupid that you find every reason to lose your cool and blow up on him!
You’ve heard change is difficult and now you understand why. You had probably bargained for your inability to fight inertia but didn’t factor in nature opposing every step of change you wanted to take. You feel helpless and tell yourself “This is unfair. I want to change and I can.. if only nature didn’t resist it so badly”. Worse still you decide to be happy with status quo “There’s no point” you feel, “I did give it a try, but things are not working out. Maybe I’ll try again some other day.”
Life is funny, isn’t it? And it doesn’t always seem fair either. Especially when it comes to change. As if it isn’t difficult enough to get into the change mindset, now nature wants to play spoilsport by resisting that change.
Your best bet is to accept this as another law of nature. And instead of labeling yourself as ‘unfortunate’, believe that the Universe has no prejudices against you. In fact the Universe itself is constantly changing. The world around us is a different place every second. Why would the Universe want to stop you from changing?
It wouldn’t. All it’s doing is testing you. Checking the strength of your resolve. Provoking you. Challenging you. Asking you if the change you seek is superficial or genuine. Assessing if you can endure the bigger challenges that lie ahead. Questioning your determination and shaking you up in the process.
The Universe wants a student that is ready. Whether you are or are not depends on how you respond to the resistance nature throws at you. You give up and it concludes that you’re not ready yet. It’s up to you to show the Universe how badly you want to change. If it rains, are you determined to replace your walk with an indoor workout? When you’re on a diet are you capable of turning down the party invitation or better still going for it and consciously skipping the heavy desert?
Yes, when you decide to change it will be a tug of war. Between you and Life. It may initially seem that Life has the upper hand. It is true that when you fight with Life, Life always wins. But remember here, the Universe is just playing a small game with you. It’s just pretending to be tough. Just stay put, remain focussed and very soon you’ll realize the resistance has disappeared and the process of change becomes so smooth you don’t even feel you’ve got to make any great effort.
You perhaps face these challenges everyday. The tug of war between you and the Universe is constantly on. Most of it is subconscious. And if you’re one of those busy stressed out people you probably won’t even pause and figure out what’s happening. All you’ll remember is that you kept trying different things and some things worked out and some things didn’t.
Next time you try something different, anticipate resistance. Be prepared for it. When the Universe resists, laugh it off. Pooh-pooh it! Don’t feel frustrated or angry or helpless. Feel amused instead. Put in that extra effort at staying put. Figure out your own way of tackling that resistance, consciously. Whatever you do, break the pattern of your usual thinking. If you can, enjoy the tug of war!
You do that, and this time you’re sure to win.. for a change!
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