Wait for the pushback
Before I explain an interesting exercise, I have to say that it only makes sense if you actually do it as you're reading this. Otherwise, you know the outcome but not your outcome. Anyway, I'll leave it up to you...
Here's the exercise: Put your hands together in front of your body in a prayer position as seen below. Then start to push with your right hand for 3 seconds. What happens?
Next, push a little harder with your right hand for another 3 seconds and see what happens?
Most people find that their hands stay in the centre of their body. In other words, even though they are only pushing with their right hand, their left hand (without instruction) is pushing back. The point is:
“What you resist, persists”
It's an interesting thought that has been echoed through the ages and is currently getting recycled by many motivational speakers such as Robin Sharma and Deepak Chopra, amongst others.
Maybe you will have experienced this before: remember the last time you tried to convince someone to take your advice? And the harder you tried, the harder they resisted your wisdom?
What about in politics? Have you noticed that the harder one party tries to highlight their policies, the other party pushes back even harder to emphasise the inadequacies of their policies. In a referendum, the more enthusiastic one side pushes for change, the more the other side gets even more animated about stability and lack of change.
The forces continuously push against each and not only that, they move in cycles. This is an interesting thought but don't worry, I didn't just dream it up as I walked into work this morning. This is well documented...
Any fashionista will be able to tell you that clothes come in and out of style, and that you only ever have to wait about 15-20 years to wear the same stuff again.
According to trends in the financial markets, there is always a Bull Market after a Bear Market (they're opposites). In other words, when many people get scared or nervous, they take their money out of the market, the market goes down, which is then the perfect time for others to invest in the market. The 'Up' follows the 'down'.
Noticed anything about Nokia's new mobile phone? They are reintroducing a phone that has less functionality that the current latest phones. Imagine, launching a product that does less than its competitors - it's almost counterintuitive.
Think of the always connected society with 24/7 Internet access versus the increasing demand for yoga, mindfulness, meditation and other forms of disconnectedness. When we've had enough of one thing, we want the opposite. It's the pushback.
Furthermore, there's a fascinating book called 'The Fourth Turning' which analyses a huge amount of trends over the past 100+ years and shows us how cyclical our world is. The writers have done it to the extent that they can make predictions based on what is happening now. I was sceptical myself when I started the book, but I became more and more convinced as the Authors dove deeper.
So what's the point?
The point is that this is not necessarily a good or bad thing, it merely highlights the fact that cycles will continue to happen - the best thing we can do is prepare for them.
