Resistance and Surrender

Letting go of resistance is key to living my best life. It’s natural for me to react defensively to anything that I dislike and wish that it ends as soon as possible. However, in most cases, that does nothing to end the unwanted situation; all it does is create a lot of unnecessary suffering within myself, which makes the situation feel longer and more drawn out than it actually is. There is a much better approach.

I’ve heard the idea that action is the solution to fear. I agree with this to an extent. Action can reduce, suppress, or even eliminate fear in some cases, but what happens if you’re unable to act? What if you can’t work toward completing a goal, exercise, remove yourself from the situation, or even move your body? Action is of no use to you then, so what can you do? Surrender. Acknowledge whatever emotions and thoughts arise within you and offer no resistance to them. Even if you’ve lost the ability to do everything else, this still preserves your freedom to choose how you respond to your situation and prevents anyone or anything outside of you from dictating your response.

Whatever I don’t address and work through remains stuck in my subconscious where it can cause me all kinds of problems. Observing my thoughts without resisting, judging, labeling, or getting stuck in them lets me see how flimsy they truly are and removes their power over me. As difficult as it can be to work through certain thoughts and feelings, I’d rather go through the comparatively minor pain of bringing them into the light than live with the much greater pain of leaving them in the dark.

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