Have you ever noticed that the moment you start pushing forward, life seems to throw obstacles right in your path? The second you reach for something bigger, pain, chaos, and pushback show up. You start wondering: “Is this a sign to stop? Maybe this isn’t for me?”

No. It’s just that you’ve been standing still for so long you forgot what momentum feels like. And here’s the truth that might sting a little: if your life right now has no resistance, you’re not growing. You’re just coasting at the lowest speed possible to avoid effort. That’s the most dangerous place to be.

Why Resistance Shows Up Exactly When You Start Moving

Social rejection and constant comparison on social media activate the same brain regions as physical pain. That’s why sometimes all you want to do is lie down and not get back up—there’s a real battle going on inside.

When you set any meaningful goal—raise your income, get in better shape, sort out relationships, grow a business, step up to the next level—you trigger a process most people can’t handle. That process is resistance. And it’s not a metaphor; it’s a physical law and part of how our brains work.

When you’re standing still, nothing gets in the way. No friction, no pressure, no wind in your face. The brain loves that—it’s wired to conserve energy. Robert Sapolsky showed that change feels like risk to the brain, and risk feels like a threat to survival. So it does everything it can to keep you in the safe zone, even if that zone is holding you back.

But the moment you take a step, resistance appears. At first it’s mild, like a breeze. Walk slowly and it’s bearable. Start running, though, and the wind hits your face so hard your eyes water, breathing gets tough, and stopping feels like the only option.

Speed and Resistance: The Basic Physics of Life

Picture riding a bike at high speed without glasses or a motorcycle without a helmet—the wind practically knocks you back. Now think about a rocket launch: the crushing G-forces, vibration, noise, pinning the astronauts to their seats. But only after enduring that do you break free into weightlessness—a whole new level.

The same thing happens when you grow. The faster you go, the stronger the resistance. The bigger the goals, the more pressure, responsibility, fear, criticism, and exhaustion. Life follows the laws of aerodynamics: most people never accelerate because they’re not willing to pay the price.

The biggest mistake is believing that if it’s hard, you’re doing something wrong.

Two Kinds of Hard

There’s the kind of difficulty that quietly says, “Stop—this isn’t your path.” And there’s the kind that shouts, “Keep going—this is your path, and it’s supposed to be tough.”

Charles Carver and Michael Scheier, in their theory of self-regulation, showed that when someone pursues a major goal, the brain deliberately ramps up negative emotions to test whether you’re truly committed and ready for the next level. It’s an internal checkpoint. If you don’t recognize it, you’re likely to quit.

When Resistance Is Good—and When It’s a Signal to Change Course

People who never face resistance simply aren’t moving. They’re safe, but they’re also stuck. You’re alive. That’s why it hurts, why it feels chaotic, why there’s pressure. It’s not punishment. It’s proof of speed.

• Hate doesn’t come because you got worse; it comes because you became visible.
• Harder problems don’t mean you’re dumb; they mean your brain is processing information at a higher level.
• Feeling more pressure doesn’t mean life is against you; it means you’re heading somewhere you’ve never been.

The key is learning to tell the difference: growth resistance (fear, responsibility, exhaustion, criticism) is normal. Resistance from wrong choices (running in the wrong direction, deceiving yourself, actions clashing with values) is different. One you push through; the other you correct.

Pain as the Condition for Growth

Look at muscles: when you lift heavy, the fibers tear—that hurts. But during recovery overnight, the body repairs the micro-tears, adds new fibers, and makes you stronger. No tears, no growth. No resistance, no speed. No pressure, no breakthrough.

If it’s hard right now, it’s not because you’re weak. It’s because you’re in motion. If it hurts, it’s because you’re accelerating. If you feel pressure, it’s because you’re going where you’ve never gone before.

Resistance isn’t a stop sign. It’s a “buckle up” sign. You’re entering speeds where old habits and old defenses no longer hold. You need new tools, new discipline, new resilience.

Resistance isn’t the enemy. It’s the physics of growth. And growth is your nature.

So don’t give up. Look the wind in the eye. Breathe through the pressure. Keep going. Because if there’s resistance, it means you’re alive, moving, growing—and heading exactly where you’re meant to be.

References

• Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers (3rd ed.). Holt Paperbacks.
  The book explains why the brain avoids change and energy expenditure, examining evolutionary mechanisms of stress and the drive for stability.
• Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1998). On the Self-Regulation of Behavior. Cambridge University Press.
  The authors describe how pursuing significant goals creates a negative emotional backdrop to test commitment and readiness to continue the effort.
• Eisenberger, N. I., Lieberman, M. D., & Williams, K. D. (2003). Does rejection hurt? An fMRI study of social exclusion. Science, 302(5643), 290–292.
  The study demonstrates that social rejection activates the same brain regions as physical pain.