In the previous blog post, the concept of internal resistance was referenced in passing as one of the factors that impede productivity. In this entry, we’ll be taking a closer look at this subject.

Ever wondered why you can’t seem to do the very things you said you will do? Like why is it so difficult to change the habits that are obviously not helpful to your progress? It’s as though you would rather scroll endlessly on Instagram and procrastinate endlessly than work on that project you have on your hands.

Even more baffling is that the more important the project/task in question is, the more the resistance to actually get it done. It’s like there’s a direct proportion between the cruciality of the task before us and the resistance against getting it done, with avoidance serving as a constant.

The Lizard Brain

Nah, I’m not talking about the reptile. “The Lizard Brain” is a term used to describe the part of our brains responsible for processing emotions. It is biologically recognized as the amygdala. It is also responsible for fear and is triggered when there is danger lurking.

In the pre-civilization era, this ancient part of our brains helped humans instinctively react to threat without much thinking, thus shielding us from harm. However, with less of such threat and a fast-changing civilization, the lizard brain, being adverse to change, has become more of a hindrance to growth and progress.

Every task we undertake comes with an element of risk — the risk of failure being the most prominent. There’s also some form of change attached to these tasks. These factors trigger the lizard brain, and it puts up a wall against our actions. We are then faced with questions like “What if I don’t succeed at this?”, “What if I just remain in my comfort zone?” “What if it isn’t my thing?”.

These questions serve as the basis of the internal resistance against our innate desires to make progress, and if the resistance prevails, we end up procrastinating the tasks or even sabotage it all together to our own detriment. This is what I refer to as “The battle against yourself”.

Fight or Flight

The Lizard Brain is also linked to the “fight or flight” response. Every challenge we’re faced with prompts to react with either a fight or a flight. (Some sources expand the options to “fight, flight or freeze,” but I’ll be sticking to just “fight or flight”).

“Fight” in our confined context means putting up a counterattack to the internal resistance created by our lizard brains and getting through to the tasks at hand. “Flight” on the other hand, is an indication of avoidance. In “flight”, we succumb to the internal resistance and evade the tasks that come with risks and potential change.

Having defined both terms, it is clear that we would rather “fight” than avoid our important tasks. But how exactly do we overcome our internal resistance?

Negotiate

As explained earlier, internal resistance is our brain’s defence mechanism against change and risks. It isn’t really an enemy. It’s more like an over-protective friend that doesn’t pay attention to the potential benefits of our actions before carrying out its duties. It just seeks to defend us from every similitude of external threat.

Instead of fighting against it as an enemy, which only intensifies the resistance, it is more efficient to negotiate things out. This can be done by breaking the tasks/projects down into smaller chunks, thereby reducing the resistance to get those smaller chunks done. Remember the proportional relationship between the size of the task and the resistance against it?

So instead of trying to attack that research project as a whole, you can start by setting aside 30 minutes to just research the keywords. If 30 minutes still seem like a lot, try 15. Breaking the task down to easily doable fractions reduces the friction to get started. Once we hit those smaller targets, there’s even lesser friction to keep the ball rolling. Newton’s first law of motion verifies this.

Embrace Failure

How about we befriend the very thing our brain considers an enemy? How about we teach our brains that failure is not the foe but rather a part of the process? I mean, we might have to do some psychological rewiring, but if it’s gonna help us hack the resistance to actually do the things we value, why not?

Instead of viewing failure as a thing to avoid, embracing it makes it less a threat to our neurological wiring. This makes the internal resistance to taking action much less.

In summary,

Internal resistance is not an enemy. It’s an over-protective friend that seeks to help us but sometimes ends up doing the very opposite. However, this inherent part of human psychology can be an advantage if harnessed tactfully.