Hi First name / friend,
In November, a girlfriend and I started holding each other accountable for what we've begun calling our "resistance tasks."
It began with a voice memo conversation (my love language in life) about our big goals and dreams. We were chatting about how specific tasks would help propel us into making those dreams a reality, yet those are often the tasks we slot at the bottom of the to-do list or push off for something seemingly more urgent.
In his classic book, he writes, "Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands resistance."
The parts of us that love operating in our comfort zones would rather check easier things off the to-do list than move ourselves into territories uncomfortable and unknown.
So, my friend and I decided we were done pushing away from the resistance we felt towards certain projects or plans on our to-do list. We were willing to get to the end of our comfort zones and walk around a little bit. We wanted to press into the resistance. So that's what we do now—five days a week.
It began with a routine we created together.
Every morning, bright and early, we voice memo one another with a task on our list that we know we're tempted to avoid, ignore, push, or sideline. By the end of the day, we have to check in once more to report our progress. So much of the time, we send nearly identical voice memos at the end of the task, exclaiming, "I feel so relieved now that I got that one thing done" or "I feel really proud that I made time for that today."
It's wild because I've noticed I can accomplish many of these tasks in 10 minutes or less. They're simple actions that get done quickly once we're willing to press into the resistance and show up.
Sharing our resistance task for the day has been a game-changer for both of us. Here are a few things I've learned.
- It's a beautiful form of accountability. It's always tempting to put dreams on the backburner, especially as we grow older. But there's something really precious about dusting off the dreams, coming up with a plan, and starting to move forward.
- It feels a little vulnerable to admit big or dreamy goals to someone else, but there is also a freedom from knowing you're not alone in holding the dream.
- It's good to get uncomfortable. This is a lesson that shows up again and again. I just read these words from Brianna Wiest the other day, and they reminded me of the beauty of discomfort all over again, "Discomfort is not trying to punish you. It is just trying to show you where you are capable of more, deserving of better, able to change, or meant for greater than you have right now. In every case, it is simply informing you that there is more out there for you, and it is pushing you to go pursue it."
I will be honest: deciding to dream a little bigger over the last six months has been uncomfortable for me. There is this long-held belief in my head that wanting to pursue the “even more” means I'm not content or at peace with what I have. But I'm starting to debunk that lie for me and maybe for you, too.
Pursuing dreams that have lived in our hearts for a long time isn't a contentment issue. Desire can be beautiful, and we have a God who knows the earnest desires of our hearts. Why wouldn't we decidedly live for more? Why wouldn't we be a little more brave and just start going for things that make us uncomfortable? Wouldn't God meet us there, too?
I share all these things with you on a Monday morning because I've found something really life-giving, from letting a friend in on my dreams to becoming a holder for hers.
You may have someone you can text today. Maybe you've been thinking of them this whole time while reading.
Maybe you need to text these words into the text box and see what they come back with:
Hey, I've been avoiding some baby steps that would push me into new places because I'm a little bit scared, but I am also done with letting my dreams sit on the backburner. I'd like to start moving forward—one resistance task at a time—and I'm wondering if you want to do it with me. One small task, every day, to push us in a different direction. Are you in?
Pressing send now.
