My mamma was perched on the corner of E 59th and 5th, a frisbee toss, if she had a good arm, from the Plaza Hotel. She awaited my arrival for over an hour, scanning the crowd for her person to pass. The set goal was to finish a marathon and to beat Oprah's time while I was at it. Turning the corner of 59th for the last 1.2 miles to the finish, is when I saw her face. I burst into tears, seeing in her face the pride the wow of what one of her Littles was about to do, complete the NYC marathon. I stopped and didn't want to finish. I wanted to be held and fed. I didn't care about the time, the finish line, the training. I was finished even if I broke my own heart aborting the mission to kick Oprah's time and to finish the 26.2 when a year before a jog to the mailbox was all I could log as mileage. This was a big F'ing deal, why did I want to quit, seriously consider it? Yes of course I was tired and hungry and sore. I resisted the finish. "You just have a little bit more, I am so proud of you Kay." "Go. Ok fine, Mom." And go I did. I beat O by 30 seconds.
I have witnessed this Coup De La Resistance time and again in my LIFT practice. The momentum toward the goal halted abruptly. The rug pull. Perhaps we just need a praise break, a pause, a deep inhale, a moment to contemplate what will be once we cross the finish line of our goal. We will be forever altered once we finish. We are one way and then when we achieve one of our wishes through our hard work and manifesting powers and we are transformed. Our cells, our hearts our confidence all elevated. So why do we not full throttle at this point? We know the joy will flood us. We will feel super human once we just do it. The last 10 percent my pal Rachael calls it, this resistance to finish. Are we hanging on to our old story, savoring the soon to be past?
My clients have a plan in place for this quirky self imposed, last 10 percent resistance obstacle. The end goal, the wish temporarily gets aborted. Every time. The last box in the garage to cart off to GoodWill, the edits on the article, the dive into the potato chip bag not coming up for air, the snooze push that insures a late to the gym/interview/airport sabotage, the canceled date when he could be the One. They are on a roll and then they roll over. So, we build into the designed action plan-the DO part of LIFT, a re DO too. Clients work out what will help them help themselves at this juncture. The needle across the record, the whoa I am not sure I want to go there. The resistance, the block, the last 10 percent, the I just want my mama to get me outa here at mile 25. We call it the Reset.
Mostly they need to call in a support, whether it be me or a friend. The go team. We discuss why the resistance showed up, is it fear? Is it judgement? Is it, what next no worry? A little self care and a snack helps. And then they use their Word, like Harry's want. Ta da. Commit. ReCommit. ReStore (my word). Remember. Book. Race. Finish. Love. And the List of Words goes on. Literally the chosen word has power. Simple yes. The word reconnects us to why we made the wish, the goal in the first place.
Remembering the intrinsic reason they are on this path in the first place; I am running this to beat O. I am losing weight so I can hike with my kids by Mother's Day. I am having back to back Tinder dates because I am finding My Person this year. I am studying Math 101 so I can feel smart. I am reading this book so I do not get kicked out of bookclub. I am dancing so I can feel the Angels when I move. I painting one piece a week so I can have 52 pieces same time next year for my show. The Word encompasses the dream and the why of the dream. The Word pushes the last 10 percent.
I am grateful that my Word gets me out of bed, gets my fingers typing, and my feet plie'ing. Resistance is inevitable. May you take the Pause, use your word and cross the line to your Lifted life.