This past weekend, I was privileged to attend the GISC Community Gathering. Here are my reflections on the Plenary Session, “Resistance from a Gestalt Perspective,” led by Mary Anne Walk, MS, MBA, MCC and Stuart Simon, LICSW, PCC.
Ω = Ohm.
Ohm = the electrical unit of resistance . . . . But it's funny, “resistance is futile” if I choose to exercise my Ohm.
So, I wondered, “when do I feel resistant?”
Sometimes:
- When I sense I’m not being heard.
- When I’m unconditionally expected to accept someone else opinion.
- When I’m being challenged in a way that feels like there is no compromise, or no interest in my perspective.
- When I feel obligated.
- When I’m not getting curious about whatever I am resisting.
What happens if I exercise my Ohm when I feel resistant?
My Ohm behaviors are pausing, breathing, expanding my perspective, and engaging in curiosity:
- Why am I feeling resistance?
- What am I thinking that makes me resistant?
- What questions could I ask to create collaboration within myself or with someone else to dissolve my resistance?
When I exercise my Ohm, I notice an opportunity to create compromise, be relaxed, keep my perspective and accept someone else’s.
What about you? What are your thoughts about your own resistance?
- How do you know when you are feeling resistant?
- What experiences trigger your resistance?
- Why do you experience this resistance?
- What might be one way to dissolve your resistance?