When we resist fear, it doesn’t go away — “it just kind of leaks out sideways. It doesn’t come out of the front of the toothpaste tube, it comes out of the side.” The more we try to shield ourselves from fear, the bigger the shield we need between us and life itself.
Critically, the approach to resistance isn’t to resist the resistance (which is just more of the same). Instead, Joe suggests feeling what it’s like to resist — experiencing the resistance itself, seeing how it works for you, and letting your system update naturally. This is an experiment-based approach rather than a willpower approach.
The things we fear are often the very things we invite into our world through avoidance. If we let attachment to a certain identity cause us to suppress fear, the thing that fear would keep us safe from becomes more likely to happen. The fear compiles daily, stacking up until it either moves through us or shows up in a deep subconscious way that recreates the feared scenario.
Related Concepts
- Resistance creates the feared outcome
- Avoidance of fear invites the feared outcome
- Fighting resistance creates more resistance
- Resisting an emotion is exactly what invites it back
- Intensifying a feeling moves you through it rather than trapping you
- Resistance is a natural step in transformation
- Loving resistance is the path through it