In our modern world, the common antidote for encountering resistance is pretty simple: push through it. And yet, for soulful and sensitive beings, push through often doesn’t resonate with very core of our beings. We find it difficult to overlook the intuitive signal that something within is calling for attention. That’s because we know resistance often manifests not just as tangible barriers in life, but more often, as inner resistance—a feeling or unconscious pattern that we intrinsically feel is impeding our way forward.
Lately, in the garden, I’ve been encountering small and interesting resistances that prompted me to reflect on resistance as a whole. While watering the potted plants one morning, I began tugging the hose to various parts of the yard. At one point, I felt resistance, so I pulled with all my might, only to get nowhere. I traced my steps back to the point where it was stuck and realized it was wrapped around a large pot with no true way of going forward unless I used enough force to flip over the pot and dismantle the plant. Another day, I was digging a hole in a rocky flower bed to plant flowers and encountered what I assumed was a large rock in my way. I, again, used all my might to try to release the rock from the space I was digging with still no movement. Upon a closer, more intimate inspection, I found the pesky rock was actually a sprinkler head—fortunately intact (whoops!). In both cases, what I perceived as a physical obstacle needing to be pushed through were actually signals inviting me to check in. Pushing through without understanding what was causing the resistance in both cases could have led to unnecessary damage.
On a larger scale, many of us have been taught by our guardians and society that when encountering resistance in life, pushing through is the embodiment of resilience. This makes sense, considering the underlying desire of the human race to advance. Pushing through has led to some remarkable achievements, and on the flip side, perhaps many achievements at the cost of the whole.
For sensitive and intuitive souls in tune with the world around them, the impulse to force our way through is often overcome with the signal that something needs attention. This isn't just reluctance; it's a direct reflection of the way sensitive and intuitive beings move through the world. These moments can often trigger strong spiritual and emotional reactions that sensitive beings are familiar with and capable of navigating through intuition. This isn't just reluctance; it's a direct reflection of the way sensitive and intuitive beings move through the world. These moments can often trigger strong spiritual and emotional reactions that sensitive beings are familiar with and capable of navigating.
Checking in and pushing through are quite different, and sensitive and soulful beings are very in tune with the process, even if it hasn’t always been on a conscious level. It is, perhaps, like pausing before a mountain to find the easiest path over or around, rather than approaching it with dynamite to create a tunnel through hard stone.
In moments of resistance, here are some things we can ask ourselves to check in rather than push through. It is best to focus on the heart while asking these questions and allow it to answer, rather than the analytical nature of the mind.
- Am I in the right place?
- Is my destination I've been desiring still the best place for me to go?
- What’s causing me to not move forward?
- What do I need to unwind, uncover, or become familiar with so my path forward is more serene?
The answers to these questions may be things in the external world we need to do or make way for. More often, the heart will answer with more subtle, soulful suggestions or transitions that can be made for resistance to relinquish. This is the deeper reason why pushing through generally does not work or feel right to sensitive, soulful beings: because resistance is often the sign that something exists within us that cannot exist in the space our souls are calling us to go. There is some aspect that can no longer be carried within the person we are becoming.
This shift in perspective teaches us that overcoming resistance is not about striving harder but about understanding deeper.