By Pauline Hanuise
Suffering can take many different forms in our lives. It may be jealousy, sadness, anger, frustration or disappointment. We all experience these forms of suffering on a regular basis and this is normal. After all, we are still human beings.
However, thinking that we are powerless represents a complete lack of trust in our own power. I am sure Napoleon Hill and Eckhart Tolle would agree with me when I say that we have total power over our happiness and well-being (consciously or unconsciously).
Alright, I agree that this is easier said than done. After all, we don’t control what is happening around us. But one thing is certain, we have 100% control over how we respond to things that happen around us.
You might not control your boss’ behaviour but you can control the influence you allow it to have on your own life.
Basically all forms of suffering can be explained as a type of resistance we apply to what is happening around us. When we experience anger towards someone else for example, we are resisting someone else’s actions or behaviours.
This person isn’t truly the cause of our suffering. The real cause of our suffering is the way you see the situation, the way you leave it really impacts your own life and well-being.
Resistance is actually the action of not fully accepting what arises. This indicates wanting something (or someone) to be different. This is the action of trying to change something that cannot be controlled.
Resistance puts you in a bad mood. It can turn a blue sky to grey and resistance can make you sad when someone doesn’t reply to your emails. Resistance makes you want your loved one to cook more often or to love you in a different way.
Resistance, when it’s too uncomfortable, makes you overeat, buy clothes you don’t really need, makes you drink too much wine, make love without love or abuse drugs and medication. But we all know that ‘what we resist, persists’. And indeed, the only way to get rid of the cause of our suffering is to accept it. Accepting ‘what is’ without any judgment and being content with what’s happening is the key to a happy, healthy life.
We suffer when we resist the reality. Because we’d like things to turn out differently, we create frustration, sadness, anger and suffering.
Letting all that go, whatever happens by accepting and embracing what shows up, exactly as it is is total freedom and is the secret to peace of mind and true happiness.
This week, I invite you to practice more ‘letting go’ and observe how this impacts your daily life.
Set an alarm on your phone reminding you to check in with yourself to see if you are resisting anything. Try this several times per day and observe what happens.
About the Author:
Pauline Hanuise is a certified Holistic Recovery & Health Coach. Featured by Cosmopolitan as one of the top 5 healthy women you should know, she believes everyone deserves freedom over food, health & happiness. Having recovered from 15 years of struggles with full-blown bulimia, she is now dedicated to help people making peace with food and get a better life. She is the creator of the health and wellness website paulinehanuise.com and the Facebook community ‘Respect Yourself‘. She is also the founder of the “Make Peace With Food, Change Your Life” project, where she empowers women to live a better life. You can also find her on Twitter, Instagram & Google+.
