“Why does this have to be so difficult?” I have put this question out into the universe many times over the decades for things that vary significantly along the scale of complexity. One that comes to mind was during the stress of trying to finish a presentation by a specified deadline and my laptop favoured the spinning circle that appears with a “not responding” message – over and over again. It clearly did not understand the urgency or the significance of my task, nor did it have any appreciation for the last minuteness of my work. Sigh. Another time involved the painfully long and iterative process of gaining approval to implement a particular technology platform that to me seemed straightforward, while to senior leadership required a careful and microscopic analysis of net present value and return on investment. Trust me, it wasn’t an ERP solution and in the big scheme of things I felt $200K was a worthwhile spend, but that was purely from my point of view. Let’s have one more sigh, for good measure
Fret not, the purpose of this blog is not to complain about the trials and tribulations I’ve experienced over the years, rather it is intended to bring into focus a simple fact of reality. No matter what we’re leading, whether it be ourselves, a team, a project, or a company there will be some form of resistance along the way. Shocker, I know {insert eye roll and head shake}, but it’s true. I’m no science major, in fact, I bailed out after my grade 11 biology credit, however, there is a scientific term for measuring resistance. Resistance is measured by the opposition to current flow in an electrical outlet; each unit of electrical resistance is one “ohm”. You may be wondering what the purpose of this fun fact really is. Well, it is simply to highlight that resistance is real, whether in relation to current flow or the flow of life around us.
“The path of least resistance is often appealing but is rarely, if ever, satisfying.”
– Erik Troen
Rarely do things simply fall into place and happen exactly as we envision them in our imagination. Holding too tightly to a picture-perfect experience can result in a major letdown and potential halt to progress. In life and in leadership, there is a non-stop supply of stimulus that can either accelerate or resist flow. And the truth is, we have no control over what is happening around us, we only have control over how we respond, and even that can be questionable sometimes So here’s the point: make your plan, see it through, anticipate resistance, face the resistance, choose how to respond, and let the dice fall where they may. I’ve learned to accept that no evil presence is out to make my days challenging, there will always be some opposing force to my flow. Only I have the power to choose my perspective and my response, and these make all the difference in how I experience resistance.
– Melissa Law
