Self-improvement

The Tightrope Walker’s Resolve: Why Resistance is Not Stubbornness

Silence the noise, cross the wire.

Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash

Dreaming can perhaps be seen as the beginning of a process.

I, on the other hand, interpret dreaming as the cheapest step, and perhaps the most challenging one.

Everyone dreams before reaching a certain point and tries to resist and stay on the path for their dreams.

I especially want to emphasize the concept of resisting on the path because we need to have an idea before setting out.

However, things may not always go the way we want on the road, which is why we must resist with firm steps, saying “I am here.”

1. Resistance is Not Stubbornness

We have all had very stressful and busy periods in our lives.

Studying, earning money, moving towards a goal…

When you are heading towards failure on this path and you still keep going, people will label you as stubborn.

In fact, resisting is not stubbornness.

When a tightrope walker starts to lose their balance halfway through the path, they suddenly pause and immediately calculate their distance to the other side.

What are they supposed to do at that moment if they don’t continue, throw themselves down?

I always tell myself this: the tightrope walker has to continue that path and cross to the other side, meaning the concept of determination comes to the forefront here.

What the tightrope walker does here is not stubbornness, it is determination and resistance.

2. The Greatest Obstacles: Internal Doubt and External Noise

Let’s reconsider the tightrope walker case. If you were in the tightrope walker’s shoes, what thoughts would go through your mind?

I wonder if there is anyone who thinks they can’t make it at that moment?

Or the people down below whom they dislike the most are surely thinking that they will fail.

Well, can the tightrope walker afford to think about these thoughts at that moment, would it provide any benefit?

What the tightrope walker needs to do is to continue their path by blocking out all the noise.

Everyone has freedom of expression, but sometimes this can be in a way that is hurtful, upsetting, and demoralizing to others, and most importantly, who makes this comment matters a lot.

If these comments are made by someone who doesn’t like you, rest assured they are not doing it because they care about you.

I always say that anyone with a mouth makes comments.

Let’s imagine the tightrope walker closing their ears and moving forward while halfway through the path, and assume that they regain their balance in a determined manner.

If the tightrope walker looks down even for a second, the height will paralyze them.

The secret is not ignoring the height, but trusting your own feet and focusing solely on the next step.

Every negative comment from the crowd is just a gust of wind trying to knock them off balance.

A true tightrope walker knows that the crowd only watches the show, but they are the ones living the reality of the wire.

3. Trusting the Process: The Destination is a Moment, the Struggle is a Lifetime

While struggling, we always feel the pain of that moment within ourselves.

Maybe we studied for hours and got tired, maybe you worked in front of the computer for hours and fell asleep, and these moments are the first memories to be remembered for us during the journey.

After these memories, the decision-making mechanism in our brain activates and we start to think about go or stop situations.

So, who thinks about the end of the road?

You may not always find beautiful things at the end of every road, but can you know without trying?

When you come to this decision-making mechanism, human beings mostly want to choose a comfortable life, meaning a problem-free, trouble-free one, and reach the point of being able to leave everything all of a sudden.

But what matters here is to remember that you started the path, that you suffered so many difficulties on the road, and that very little is left.

What causes you to suddenly stop resisting on the path then?

In my opinion, it is because we think momentarily.

I am not in favor of going all the way to the end regardless of the outcome, one needs to think in advance, make a plan, and be able to make a foresight.

If you make a foresight and there is a good future for you at the end of the road, absolutely resist to stay on that path.

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