Rere: The One-Eyed Eerie Monster
When we hear the word “resistance,” we often visualize this big eerie monster that is standing in the way of our progress. For the purpose of this story, we’re going to call it “Rere.” So, Rere is this monster that shows up whenever we want to do something great, and it just stands there and says in a bad guy voice, “I am King Rere of you-shall-do-nothing-ville. I am here to stop you. You will not move until I do.” Okay, maybe you don’t visualize resistance this way, maybe you view resistance as the opposite of progress. The question most people find themselves asking is, How can I take Rere down? How can I eliminate it? The question we need to ask is, Who created Rere? How does Rere have so much power over us? Does Rere even exist?
You see, resistance is not some vague monster that just shows up.
Resistance is you.
I believe that we develop resistance to the things that we:
Don’t want to do
Don’t have clarity on
Are afraid to fail at
Are afraid to succeed at
I love to use my interactions with my kid as an example, so here goes another, “My 6-year-old son,” story. Early this morning, my son lay on the floor watching television. I asked him to meet me in the kitchen to take his vitamins. His response was, “My leg hurts, and I’m tired.” As a test, I said to him, “Alright, I guess I’m just going to have the strawberry ice cream alone.” He immediately jumped up and headed to the kitchen. There was motivation.
Whenever I call for an electrician or a carpenter, they’re always late. They show up with multiple excuses - a sick family member, traffic, transportation challenges, etc. Then I ask them a question, “If I called you to pick up 1 million Naira at 8am, with the caveat that if you showed up at 8:01am, it would be unavailable, would you be here at 8am?“ The response is always affirmative.
YES! Again…Motivation.
When we want to do something, we do it.
When we don’t want to do something, we develop several reasons why it shouldn’t be done.
I have a super packed week ahead, and as I look at my schedule, it looks impossible to execute. In addition to multiple deadlines, I have 2 full shoot days for a program that I’m working on with my team.
Resistance says, “Move things around by a week or two, or three.”
Resistance says, “Maybe you don’t need to do this particular thing this week, you can do it next month.”
Rere sometimes looks like Logic. It’s a very crafty monster.
But here’s why I’m winning this week: I’m super excited about what needs to get done! I have some clarity on it. I’m not afraid to fail at it. I’m also not afraid to succeed at it. As tough as the week seems, I can make progress because I’m excited to do the work.
Are you excited about what you need to do? Even if you’re not super pumped about it, do you at least have some clarity on how this particular thing is important to where you want to go? How important is it to you? Are you stalling because you don’t want to fail, and you’re worried about that? Or…the real crazy one… are you afraid to succeed? Because yes, it’s possible to have a fear of success.
Rere, the monster is not an external force. Rere the monster is a figment of your imagination. You created it, and you have the ability to destroy it. The key to eliminating it is to use the same tool that you used to create it - your mind. And if you can’t destroy it fully yet, at least distract the bloody monster by faking it till you make it.
Start by screaming at the top of your lungs, “I’m pumped for Monday, woooooohooooooo!!!!!” Orrrrrr Simply re-invent Rere. Change the narrative you have about it. Instead of painting him as a black one-eyed monster with sharp teeth, visualize him as a guy in a blue leopard skin gymnastics costume that sings in a high pitch, “I’m Rere the eerie scary guy from you-shall-do-nothing-ville!”
#ChangeYourMind
#ChangeYourNarrative
xx
Adaora ‘Lumina’ Mbelu
Quote of the Week:
“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.” ― Steven Pressfield