You Are Not Lazy or Undisciplined. You Have Internal Resistance.

Written by: Hussein Waiyaki
Edited and Reviewed by: Tex Wambui
Internal resistance isn’t a mysterious or malevolent force acting against you. It’s not some kind of dark force like the Dark Side! Rather, it’s a part of you, growing from the same mental space as your talents, skills, and goals.
When you think about it this way, it becomes clear that seeing internal resistance as laziness or lack of discipline is not only unhelpful but inaccurate. Internal resistance isn’t lazy—it’s incredibly energetic! It takes a lot of mental effort to push back on your desire to pursue your goals day after day.
And when we try to use discipline to push ourselves forward, we often make the problem worse. The closer we get to achieving our goal, the greater our fear, and the stronger the resistance becomes. In other words, trying to "discipline" ourselves into action just intensifies the internal tug-of-war, with both sides pulling even harder.
So what can we do instead?1. Recognize That Internal Resistance is on Your SideOne of the hardest things about not taking action is that it can feel self-destructive. But internal resistance isn’t trying to harm you; it actually wants to protect you from pain. You are not sabotaging yourself—you’re just grappling with two conflicting beliefs: one that tells you to do the thing, and another that tells you not to.
2. Get Curious About the Pain Your Brain is Trying to AvoidAsk yourself: What exactly is the pain I’m trying to avoid? Once you understand the specific fear behind your resistance, you can begin working through it. That’s why treating internal resistance as some external, immovable force is a mistake. It responds to reason and alternative scenarios. To reduce its hold, though, you need to understand why it's there in the first place.
3. Negotiate With Your ResistanceYou may not fully understand what’s motivating your internal resistance right away, and even once you do, it can take time to address the underlying fears and worries. In the meantime, try negotiating. Can you convince your resistance to let you work for just 10 minutes? What about 5 minutes? If you can’t get started formally, could you record some ideas into your phone? Maybe brainstorm in the shower or bathtub?
The key is to stop framing the problem as “I need more willpower to stop being lazy” and start thinking, “I’m facing internal resistance—how can I work with it creatively today?”
4. Recognize That You’re Not AloneInternal resistance isn’t some rare force that affects only a few people. Almost everyone experiences it to some degree. Yes, there are some people who seem to produce and create without any struggle. But even they likely face resistance at times. In fact, you might even seem like that kind of person to someone in your life.
5. Listen to Your ResistanceThere’s a deeper reason why it helps to see internal resistance as a form of wisdom, rather than an opponent to be defeated. Your resistance actually carries knowledge about what you secretly believe you’re capable of. After all, your brain wouldn’t be so afraid of the potential consequences if it didn’t think you were trying to do something meaningful.
It’s also worth remembering that the force of your internal resistance reflects how much you want to do the work. The only reason the internal tug-of-war continues is because part of you is still fighting to move forward. The process feels exhausting because it seems like one part of you has to lose, no matter which side wins.
By working to understand your resistance, you can stop the internal battle and address the real fears that lie beneath. Some fears might turn out to be imagined, while others may represent genuine pain or challenges. But either way, once you confront them, they become just one part of the process, rather than a barrier stopping you from starting in the first place.