285- Pressure Is a Privilege: Why Resistance Means You’re Moving

Have you ever committed to something — really committed — and then felt the pushback start almost immediately? The friction, the doubt, the voice in your head saying maybe this wasn’t meant to be? I used to think that was a sign something was wrong. I’ve learned to read it differently now.

Pressure Is a Privilege

The reframe starts here: pressure is not a punishment. It’s a privilege. Father Mike Schmidt’s podcast planted the phrase for me, and once I heard it, I started seeing it everywhere. Novak Djokovic says it too — pressure means you’re doing something important. The logic is simple: when there’s real pressure, there’s a real opportunity attached to it. When an athlete stops feeling pressure before a match, it usually means they’ve stopped caring whether it matters. The stakes and the pressure come together. You can’t have one without the other.

Headwinds Are Physics, Not a Warning

Here’s the reframe that I think changes everything: if you’re sitting still, there’s no resistance. Life is smooth. No friction, no drag, no headwind. But that also means you’re not moving. The moment you start heading somewhere, physics kicks in. A bicycle creates wind resistance. A car window pushed open feels the air push back. An airplane doesn’t fight headwinds because they’re the enemy — it fights them because you can’t get lift without resistance. You can’t gain altitude without headwinds. The headwind doesn’t mean you’re going the wrong direction. It means you’re going.

Where Self-Help Gets It Backwards

A lot of mainstream advice says: if it’s hard, something’s wrong. If there’s struggle, maybe you’re not cut out for this. If things flow easily, that’s confirmation you’re on the right path. I think that’s exactly backwards. Ease can mean you’re not stretching. Comfort can mean you’re shrinking. No resistance can mean you’re not moving at all. The reframe: resistance is not evidence that you’re doing something wrong. Resistance is evidence that you’re doing something enough — something real, something that has weight and stakes and consequence. Nobody gets significant pushback for staying exactly the same.

God Trains in the Hard Places

For those of us who are people of faith: the resistance isn’t the absence of a blessing. It’s a training ground. Every person in the Bible who was going somewhere faced headwinds. No one had an easy ride of it. God doesn’t refine us in comfortable places. He refines us in hard ones. And if you’re not facing any resistance right now, it’s worth asking honestly — are you actually moving anywhere? Not a judgment. A question I’ve had to ask myself too.

Four Practical Things to Do When Pressure Hits

Because knowing that pressure is a privilege doesn’t make it feel like one in the middle of it. Here’s what helps. First, name it — say out loud, this is resistance, this is what moving feels like. That single act breaks the panic and shifts you from reacting to observing. Second, ask a better question — instead of “is this a sign I should stop?” ask “what is this resistance telling me about where I’m going?” The pressure becomes your curriculum. Third, don’t confuse hard with wrong — some of the most right things you’ll ever do will be genuinely hard. Hard is not a verdict. And fourth, stay in motion — no heroic surges, no giant leaps. Just don’t stop. The pressure is not stronger than your next step.

Stay Out of the Harbor

Sailors know something most of us forget: the storm doesn’t care where you are. It will find you in the harbor too. Staying still doesn’t protect you from hard things — it just means you face them without any skills, without any momentum, without any ability to tack left or right. When you’re moving, even slowly, you start to develop instincts. You learn to read the water. You start to angle into the wind or away from it. The very forces that would capsize you in the harbor become the forces that carry you through. The breeze isn’t warning you. It’s training you.

Jill’s Links

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https://twitter.com/schmern

Email the podcast at jill@startwithsmallsteps.com

By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal experiences and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, life coach, or mental health professional. Any habits, strategies, or suggestions offered should not be considered a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or counseling advice. Results vary — small steps look different for everyone. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.