At the end of the 4th post, The Paradox of Externals, I said, "Change for many of us is difficulty; in fact, change itself is a bit of a paradox. I debated with myself on where or not to include the paradox of change it in this series. But I chose to save it for later. As I will use it in a different context."

In today's post, I want to close that loop in a new context.

'Don’t remain loyal to something simply because of how long you’ve been doing it.'

~ Brian Bohlke

My friend and mentor said this to me ~2015 and I've never forgotten it. His wisdom can be applied to your relationships, exercise routine, and eating habits.

And that's what I wanna unpack with you in this series, "the Upper Limit Problem."

This concept was brought to life by Gay Hendricks, author of The Big Leap. The idea is this.

We all have a capacity (I.e., Upper Limit) of the amount of happiness we're able to tolerate. The moment we reach this limit... we do something to sabotage our efforts to bring ourselves back to a state which is more familiar.

I.e., our zone of comfort.

And a big reason for staying in our comfort zone is the fear of change.

The Paradox of Change

People fear change.

Understandable.

Why?

In my opinion––and short experience in this life––is because... we're afraid of not being prepared for change. But here's a piece of truth for ya... if you’re not seeing progress with your current plan.

It’s time to change.

Because we can't solve a problem with the same mindset and actions which caused the problem in the first place.

You see... each time you solve a problem... it creates a NEW PROBLEM. Which requires a new way of thinking, new strategy, and new actions to solve the new problem.

It's why Performance Progression Training is essential to not get stuck in any particular phase of the strength cycle.

Each new phase requires new skills; new plans; new strategy.

Everyone wants to grow.

But… in order to grow you must change.

It starts with your brain

This is the PARADOX; and it starts with your BRAIN. It's function is to: keep you alive, safe, and seek the path of least resistance. Survival mechanisms which has served you well.

However, one day you may need to call upon every ounce of strength to escape clear and present danger.

The same survival mechanisms which drive us to avoid difficulty (or change) at all costs… are the same mechanisms holding us back from living a life of purpose... and fulfillment.

A refusal to change is 1.) A desire to remain safe. 2.) Permission to make decisions from a place of fear through forms of resistance. Or 3.) "Because this is how I've always done it... and it's always worked before."

Remember.

Don't remain loyal to something simply because of how long you've been doing it.

Gay Hendricks summarizes all three of these into what he calls the Upper Limit Problem.

I’ll expand more on this in the next post of this series. For now, I think this is enough for you to contemplate on.

Thanks for reading.

hec "I ain't scared of change" g.

P.S. - Seriously. If the way you've been doing things is not reaping the benefits you planned for.

I exhort you with all love... CHANGE.

Be on the lookout for my next post where I peel back the layers on the "Upper Limit Problem." And how it's likely keeping you "stuck" in life's ups and downs.

Title: "(Part 2) 5 Forms of Resistance."

[To be continued...]