It is almost as unavoidable as death - if you begin something new you will almost certainly meet with some resistance. Why is this? There are many levels of answers possible. On the first most basic and physical level, one of Newton's laws applies - a body in motion tends to stay in motion; a body at rest tends to stay at rest. Inertia is the general (not the optimal) state that some human beings have adopted. Getting them to move forward is a delicate, demanding, and often frustratingly slow-moving operation.
Once, while still living in southern Ontario, I was driving down a dirt road when I saw what looked for all the world like a piece of concrete in the middle of the road. Thinking that I would move it, since no one else was on the road, I stopped my car and went up to investigate the "concrete". It was a snapping turtle, a very large and not very friendly one. It was making its way from one side of the road to the other and I was in a hurry. There was not enough room to go around it and it pulled its head in and refused to move on, when I approached it. I thought to push it along with my foot (gently of course) but it swung its head right around and would likely have removed part of my foot if I hadn't had quick reflexes. The turtle then sat there eyeing me as I eyed him. Intermittently checking the time, I waited for several minutes. I thought finally to get a stick with some leaves on it. Holding it out in front of him, he bit at it and held on, allowing me the opportunity of pulling him far enough out of the way that I could drive past and continue to my appointment. Mission accomplished!
Just like the turtle crossing the road, many people are resistant to new ideas, methods, or just life's upgrades in general. They resist technology, changes in economics, changes in their workplace; change becomes the pariah for them and must be opposed at all costs. They can get downright nasty and even attack the person who is trying to nudge them forward. They will pull their proverbial heads into their shells (or some other part of their anatomy) in order not to move on. Coaxing them with some sort of incentive seems to be the only cure for this inertia.
But meeting with this sort of resistance, does not mean you are on the wrong track. It simply means that persistence and incentives are needed in order to get people to come along and buy into your vision. A few allies are good to have, if they can be garnered, then you can delegate them to "hold out the stick with the leaves on it".
Resistance is like friction - without it we couldn't walk. We need it at some level.
At another level of understanding. The people who are resistant could be seen as the projection of the shadow ( as Jung identified it, in this instance, it is that part of ourselves, which is resistant to the change and which we refuse to own). These people are doing us a favour, believe it or not, regardless of how little it feels that way at the time. They are allowing us extra time to process, reflect, and ruminate about the various elements of the change that we are wanting to implement. They allow us to integrate those parts of ourselves that are also resistant, especially if they are unacknowledged. It allows us to experience the duality that is part o our existence. We can blame or be angry at the other, yet at some level we are all one. Better to accept that we are all (no matter how much we may resist this truth) both wanting and reluctant to have, change. Once we can accept our own duality, we can better work with others and understand their resistance. Then it will be easier, or at least less stressful for us, to accomplish our goals.
Once, while still living in southern Ontario, I was driving down a dirt road when I saw what looked for all the world like a piece of concrete in the middle of the road. Thinking that I would move it, since no one else was on the road, I stopped my car and went up to investigate the "concrete". It was a snapping turtle, a very large and not very friendly one. It was making its way from one side of the road to the other and I was in a hurry. There was not enough room to go around it and it pulled its head in and refused to move on, when I approached it. I thought to push it along with my foot (gently of course) but it swung its head right around and would likely have removed part of my foot if I hadn't had quick reflexes. The turtle then sat there eyeing me as I eyed him. Intermittently checking the time, I waited for several minutes. I thought finally to get a stick with some leaves on it. Holding it out in front of him, he bit at it and held on, allowing me the opportunity of pulling him far enough out of the way that I could drive past and continue to my appointment. Mission accomplished!
Just like the turtle crossing the road, many people are resistant to new ideas, methods, or just life's upgrades in general. They resist technology, changes in economics, changes in their workplace; change becomes the pariah for them and must be opposed at all costs. They can get downright nasty and even attack the person who is trying to nudge them forward. They will pull their proverbial heads into their shells (or some other part of their anatomy) in order not to move on. Coaxing them with some sort of incentive seems to be the only cure for this inertia.
But meeting with this sort of resistance, does not mean you are on the wrong track. It simply means that persistence and incentives are needed in order to get people to come along and buy into your vision. A few allies are good to have, if they can be garnered, then you can delegate them to "hold out the stick with the leaves on it".
Resistance is like friction - without it we couldn't walk. We need it at some level.
At another level of understanding. The people who are resistant could be seen as the projection of the shadow ( as Jung identified it, in this instance, it is that part of ourselves, which is resistant to the change and which we refuse to own). These people are doing us a favour, believe it or not, regardless of how little it feels that way at the time. They are allowing us extra time to process, reflect, and ruminate about the various elements of the change that we are wanting to implement. They allow us to integrate those parts of ourselves that are also resistant, especially if they are unacknowledged. It allows us to experience the duality that is part o our existence. We can blame or be angry at the other, yet at some level we are all one. Better to accept that we are all (no matter how much we may resist this truth) both wanting and reluctant to have, change. Once we can accept our own duality, we can better work with others and understand their resistance. Then it will be easier, or at least less stressful for us, to accomplish our goals.
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