Why do people resist change ?

This is somewhat of a loaded question because it presumes that people DO, in fact, resist change and suggests that we should look for the reasons why!

I don’t believe that people resist change because change is something that’s constantly occurring around us in every moment. For example, outside, you will see birds flying, cars moving about, and people walking - we LIVE in a sea of change which is a very NATURAL part of our experience.

So the resistance must relate to something else, but what?

Well, at the most superficial level, the reason that people behave in a certain way boils down to what they FEEL to be TRUE about themselves and their life. Two separate things become one: FEELING is an emotional aspect, and TRUTH is a mental aspect, and when these two elements join forces, they create a third, which I will call BELIEF.

Now, just like a sperm and an egg combine to form an embryo which is considered a new, separate and independent life, so does a BELIEF form a separate and independent structure in our mind. A belief then operates on our behalf and sets out to PROVE what we FEEL to be TRUE!

A belief is a little like plugging a vacuum cleaner into the power supply: it takes on a life of its own. The vacuum cleaner is essentially the mental element, and the electricity is the emotional element, and when they work together, they can clean up a huge mess!

A belief has a job to perform and a value, and it WILL defend its “right to life” if threatened. And so when we, as people, embark on implementing change, we go about it by trying to eliminate belief structures within our mind and replacing them with new ones. There are then two things at play: firstly, the existing belief structure will fight for its life if we intend to eliminate it, and secondly, the new belief structure, which is still “young,” is not yet strong enough to operate independently, especially if its function is in direct competition with the existing belief.

It’s as if the existing belief structure is connected to electricity, and the new belief structure is connected to a battery.

Also, as a new belief structure is still developing, it will hold a “lower” rank in our overall belief structure compared to the existing one, which is already autonomous. The more FEELING (e-motion) we give to the new belief structure, the more it will grow and prosper and move up the ranks within our overall belief structure.

As the new belief structure matures, becomes autonomous (connects to the electricity) and moves up the ranks within our overall belief structure, we will begin to see its effects, or results, in our everyday experience. We experience CHANGE.

It’s important to note that the existing belief structure will NOT die or be eliminated, but rather that it will become dormant as far as our everyday experience is concerned. We never lose access to belief structures and the results that they can produce for us. We can choose to become emotionally involved with them at any time, and they will begin to grow and form part of our experience once again. We have nothing to lose in life but everything to gain.

So, it’s not that “people resist change” but rather that they resist being changed and are unaware of the process involved in implementing the beliefs that will lead to the changes that can deliver their desired experiences. People don’t know how to change themselves but don’t want others to force any change upon them either.

The good news is that creating change is a very simple process that we are constantly engaged with and doing, whether we realise it or not. Whenever we become emotionally involved with any thought, idea or situation, we either create a new belief structure or reinforce an existing one.

So when we focus our conscious attention on thinking about what we want and becoming emotionally involved with those thoughts, we create new belief structures. Then as we give emotion to those new structures, they grow, develop, become independent and deliver our desires through the everyday experiences we start to have. Our belief structures are there to serve us and will go to the ends of the earth to PROVE what we FEEL to be TRUE.

Ultimately, to experience what we want, all we have to do is pick a thought or idea, give it all our love and commitment and encourage its growth and development until it becomes autonomous.