Tack Into Resistance

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." — Jimmy Dean

When facing a stiff wind, don't resist the force of it. Let it fill your sails.

We face periods of resistance each day, week, month and year. This resistance is much like the wind blowing in from the ocean. The initial reaction is one of three things:

1. Complain to the point of inaction
2. Wait for the wind to die down
3. Head right into the wind with bowed head

The first is a refusal to acknowledge resistance for the gift it is. The second is procrastination born of safety and comfort. The third is a misplaced stubbornness backed by brute force.

There is another option... one that looks ridiculous and ineffective. But it works better at moving forward than sprinting toward a windless horizon. To understand it, one must consider a practice used in sailing.

A sailboat cannot travel directly into the wind. It must maneuver back and forth to either side. By doing so, the wind fills its sails and propels the boat forward in the direction of its source.

This maneuver is known as tacking. And a series of tacking maneuvers is known as beating. A zigzag pattern into the wind is the result. That is how a sailboat uses the very obstacle of the wind to its advantage. The wind becomes the way!

"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." — William Arthur Ward

So what does this have to do with the resistance we experience in life?

Just as the wind becomes the way for sailboats...
Resistance becomes the way for Life's journey.

Tacking back and forth in the direction of resistance. Zigging and zagging forward with each tack. Beating the way toward all that is meaningful in life.

Food for Thought

Which of the three reactions to resistance do you typically respond with?

Like a sailboat, can you beat your way through the wind of resistance instead?

Can you now see resistance as the way?

One Small Step

When faced with resistance, imagine it is the wind and you are the sailboat. Instead of hitting it head on, tack to the left and right of it. Beat your way into the wind by using this resistance as a source of propulsion.