Kinds of resistance

I was reading and then inspired by a blog post by Austin Kleon a while ago about how ‘Resistance is necessary’. As usual he spins the idea around creativity, quoting authors and artists and jazz musician Wayne Shorter who said,

‘Playing music should be struggle, like going through resistance. It’s like how an airplane needs the resistance of the air to rise.’

To illustrate this idea he talks about how the materials we use for work and for play are what guide and direct us. The give of piano keys under your fingers, or the way a pen scratches and glides on a page tells the artist where to go.

I’ve certainly found this to be true. Creatively, when I’m stuck for ideas I need a physical page to push against to write, and at work, when things are going well or smoothly, I procrastinate. I stop learning until there’s something else, something new to push against. 

Think of it like friction, without it we would get nowhere fast. You wouldn’t be able to walk, to type, and we’d all look very silly slipping around everywhere. Resistance is necessary.

Your resistance is not my resistance

The necessary resistance is different for different people. I know someone for example who is incredibly organised, diligent, and determined. She’s also religious, ambitious, and driven to not quit and succeed at what she puts her mind to. These are the things that provide the kind of resistance she needs. Faith to lift her up, ambition to chase after, and a pressure to keep going.

Another friend is neither religious, ambitious, or particularly driven. He is relaxed, focused more on enjoying life and friends.  But he’s also one of the most capable people I know. In no small part because when the pressure is on, he can push against it and deliver. At University he was the frustrating personification of the phrase that applies to so many.

‘If it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would get done’ - Rita Mae Brown

Too much of good stuff is bad stuff

However, this is where I diverge from Austin’s narrative somewhat and want to mention that too much resistance, too much friction, is easy to fall into and is bad. Aeroplane turbulence is caused by too much resistance, car brakes fail from too much ware, and with too much air resistance you couldn’t even stand up or walk or paint. 

There’s a concept I learnt on a mental health first aid course about a ‘stress bucket’. It says that everyone has a bucket in their heads that you pour things into and everyone’s bucket has a hole in it for things to come out of. Some people’s buckets are bigger than others, some have bigger holes, some have holes in different spots, but everyone has a bucket. 

Every time you deal with something new or think about something consciously, it gets poured into the bucket. Everything from big thick liquids like dread and grief, to the perhaps smaller stuff like what you’re going to make for dinner. Over time the liquid drains out from the hole. Supporting the idea that ‘time heals all wounds’ because in theory everything should eventually drain out. 

The interesting thing is that the level of the liquid in the your bucket doesn’t matter right up until it starts to overflow. When this happens is when the bad stuff happens. Anxiety, panic, stress, depression, etc. When your bucket overflows you’re getting too much resistance and need to take things out. 

And it really can be simple small thing like canceling a boring meeting or stopping overthinking the message you want to send to the person you’re thinking about and just sending it. If the bucket is even slightly overflowing, you’re in trouble, but if you can bring it back to just below the rim, you’ll be fine. 

This is also where my favourite (and only) chinese phrase contributes something; ‘Wu ji bi Fan’ Jackie Chan in the Karate Kid says that it means, ‘Too much of something is no good’. Even good things like practice, or time, or helpful resistances that are good and necessary and helpful, can be too much. 

Conclusion

So if you can’t get yourself to do something, think about how you can apply resistance to help yourself move along. Or if you’re struggling, if your bucket is overflowing, think about what you can take out or even simply pause for a while, because Wu ji bi Fan.