“What we resist persists.”
Psychologist Carl Jung said, “What you resist not only persists but will grow in size.” And many teachers have followed with “what we embrace dissolves” or “what we accept changes.”
We resist emotions, exercise, and rest. My daughter resists practicing her piano. We avoid talking about challenging topics. We fight what is more complicated, what’s not ‘easy peasy.’ In a world full of instantaneous gratification, our attention is easily distracted. Our mind has irresistible entertainment from the little computers we hold in our hands, making it even easier to avoid the more brutal stuff.
It is not that we all need to be bodybuilders, master chefs, or meditation gurus, but we all have our strengths when it comes to keeping healthy, and we all have areas where it’s helpful to learn more. Health is a balance.
Health resides between rest and exhaustion, repressed emotions and confrontation, bland and five-alarm chili, or failure and perfection. Health is finding the middle way. There’s a sweet spot that lies between denial and greed. It’s not all or nothing; we do not need to live in extremes. We can exist where we are comfortable, yet notice when our comfort becomes a crutch. We can live on a continuum of awareness so that we recognize when we need to push ourselves a bit more or when we need to cut ourselves some slack.
You want to find your balance and avoid the swings to the extreme. There are more options for wellness.
Life Ideals is six self-care practices. Six ways to explore and choose the intentions that will support you to: Improve Health, Build Resilience, Decrease Resistance, and Increase Joy.
