Opposition Day 1: Opposition Is Inevitable

“Do not pray for an easy life; pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” — Bruce Lee

No one here is unfamiliar with moments in life when there hasn't been something or someone to push back against our good intentions.  We have also found ourselves in opposition with ourselves.   Opposition is not a sign that something is wrong — it is proof that you are moving, growing, and engaging with life.  Every day presents resistance in some form: discomfort, delay, criticism, temptation, fear, or fatigue.  Mindfulness begins by recognizing that opposition is not personal.  It is part of our human experience.  Most people waste energy wishing opposition away.  They believe peace and success mean the absence of struggle.  In reality, peace comes from understanding struggle and meeting it with clarity.  When you learn to expect opposition, it loses its power to surprise or overwhelm you.  Stop reacting emotionally and start responding intentionally.

​The area of opposition within ourselves comes from being impatient with our progress and feeling that our accomplishments are not coming quickly enough.  The practice is simple: notice moments when resistance shows up, don’t judge it, and don’t follow your impulse to give up, retreat, or doubt your abilities.  Opposition is neutral until you assign meaning to it.  If you assign it a weakness, then you fail from self-imposed defeat.  If you assign opposition as a personal attach on your character, then you begin a battle against your own understanding.  If you want to lose weight and become impatient, the impatience breeds stress, and the stress you put yourself through ends up adding more weight to any losses you were experiencing.  When you stop seeing opposition as an enemy, you gain the ability to learn from it.  Awareness is the first step towards success.