Resistance as a Pathway to Change

[Applause]

i

am a resistor i challenge everything

and as a continuous improvement

authority who inspires

change and efficiencies and people and

processes

i am also the unexpected

so how did i get here

growing up i was led to believe that i

was not good enough i was told

that i would never amount to anything

worth caring about

i was bullied every single day

of my life

people would say you don’t belong here

you’re ugly

die already

so believing the narrative

of you don’t matter

was required accepting the label

of i’m a loser was my badge of shame

i resisted everything

and instead of looking at resistance as

an opportunity

to explore more or to ask questions

the naysayer and me fell further down

the rabbit hole

resistance had a hold on me in the worst

way

imaginable

how long does it take to change your

perspective

on resistance well for me

it took a lifetime

so when i heard they were looking for

highly selective candidates for this

event

and discovered that i was selected

i said really they want me

are you kidding me i’m thinking things

can go a little rogue

well because

one of the common misconceptions in the

world is to believe we can change

without

first resisting it from racial injustice

to economic

populism to health mandates today’s

current events resemble moments in

history where

resistance was used as a vehicle for

change

groundbreaking movements that shifted

problems into possibilities

perceptions and opportunities and

skepticism into chance

planting seeds of doubt in our minds and

physically resetting our thoughts

towards the art of the possible

showing us that resistance happens not

only when we are trying to prevent

something

but when we are trying to do something

extraordinary

the question is resistance

pushing us back or is it pulling us

forward

change resistors we all know the type

structured

discipline a routine a naysayer the

outspoken pessimist whose only purpose

in life it appears

is to squash dreams or to crush ideas

i remember i thought i could change the

world one

process at a time until i met him

now this wasn’t your average resistor

this was

mr naysayer the leader of the naysayer

crew

you know the well-organized

international operation of

change sucks it won’t work and if it

ain’t broke don’t fix it

he stood about 6'5 muscular with a

prominent tattoo on his right forearm

that read with him what’s in it for me

naysayer was intimidating but well

respected in the organization

not only did he push back and resist

change

he built barriers to prevent it and an

army

to house it i remember one day i was in

the middle of facilitating a continuous

improvement workshop

when guess who decides to show up

naysayer

now i got to admit this was probably one

of the best events

ever but things happen the way they

happen

naysayers swung open the door walked in

looked around and said

this chain stuff sucks the class

responded with a thunderous cheer

yeah as if to stick it to the man

naysayer looked at me and then casually

took a seat

i was shocked and if we could rewind

that exact moment in time

you can pinpoint the very second

when utter confusion took over and i

peered off

into the class and said why

is this happening

throughout the workshop naysayer kept

finding reasons

why the new process wouldn’t work

despite

constant pleading no one could convince

him to stop

resisting it was brutal

ideas were kicked to the curb before

they even got enough traction

and it became apparent to me that if i

can convince

naysayer to stop resisting everyone else

would follow so i started to think

i’m gonna have to call in the big guns

it was the only person i knew

that can help my dad

yeah i thought makes sense dads they

know everything right

he can fix this well

instead i opted to reflect on what i

learned

when people feel like they are losing

control

or would no longer be perceived as an

expert

they push back that was the obvious

explanation right

we’ve been convinced to believe that

resisting change is bad

countless experts confirm this theory by

providing strategies that help sway

resistance into persuasion

offering their number one tip for 4.99

on how to manage it how to overcome it

and how to avoid it just

in case we experience it but

what if i told you everything you’ve

learned about resistance

was wrong imagine if this seemingly

oppositional behavior was the spark that

enabled breakthrough transformations

instead of stopping something resistance

was a

pause

to understand the intent of something

a mental trigger to collect more data

to query the unknown

at this very moment you

are resisting this idea questioning

every aspect

comparing it to a memory that does not

exist

so let’s expand the reach let’s dig a

little deeper

and reimagine what it means to resist

i’d like to ask for you to cross your

arms

now cross your arms in the opposite

direction

finally cross your arms

differently than what you did the first

and second attempt and this one could be

tricky so you know i know crossing your

arm is tricky

how many you thought that crossing your

arms the second or third time

required more thought

you’re right in fact it is implied that

when you cross your arms the first time

that signal came from your hidden brain

the amygdala a place where routines and

habits are stored memorized and released

however crossing your arms the second or

third time created a flutter of ideas

because this was a new ask with no

pre-recorded routine

more information was required in order

to move forward

those thoughts those thoughts were

triggered

in a new place called the prefrontal

cortex

the thinking questioning and reasoning

section of our minds

a place where new ideas and new

information is received

that hesitation you felt your initial

thoughts

and questions the fumbling of your arms

when trying to decide which way or how

does that look

that that was resistance

i used to think resistance was the

killer of ideas

far too often great ideas would crumble

after hitting a wall of disagreement

i’ve since learned that resistance takes

many forms

to some it’s a refusal to stop something

to others it’s simply the ability to

move in a new direction

resistance can be hidden organized

individual

or seen an opposition to change that

not only pushes back but it leans

forward

to make change possible resistance

is a gap in understanding

a mental calculation needed in order to

question if moving from the current

state

a place of comfort to the future state

the place of of the unknown if it makes

sense

i realized the naysayers pushback wasn’t

because he didn’t want to change

it was because he needed to understand

the change before

moving forward with this understanding i

encouraged the naysayer to embrace his

resistance

and to ask questions with purpose this

re-energized the group fresh ideas and

opposing views were openly discussed

providing a new way to present a

different angle into the content

every time a question was answered a new

learning was formed and instead of

pushing back

i found the naysayer pulling the change

towards him

gradually building enough confidence to

move forward

into the unknown

so allow me to leave you with a few

takeaways

it’s easy to invite people in

when everyone agrees with you however

it’s more impactful to bring in and

listen to people

that don’t agree with everything you say

we are hardwired to resist

because there is a burning curiosity to

understand the intent

of the message before moving forward

my resistance wasn’t because of

avoidance or

fear it was because i needed to know

there were so many unanswered questions

i needed to know in order to move

forward

out of the place of pain

resistance it’s probably one of the most

fundamental tools we can use

for sustainable growth because it allows

us to move forward

into the change at our own pace

so i invite you to rewrite your

resistance and discover what is the more

you want accept resistance as a

opportunity to query the unknown

to explore possibilities and to seek

opportunities that

inspire and drive new decisions in your

life

nurturing it as a positive motivator

instead of a

force to fight against will help change

your perspective

and your lens on how you see

and more importantly use it thereby

allowing you

to let resistance pull you

forward instead of pushing you back

thank you