No Teeth, Then Gum
The Resistance Is the Work
You signed up for this. But you are going to hate parts of it. You are going to want to skip, modify, substitute, negotiate.
On a normal day if we're having a conversation about running your business and you tell me you don't feel like doing Reddit and you'd rather DM people on Instagram, I'd say sure; go for it. If you tell me you're feeling too short on time and would want to engage when you have more time, again I'd say sure, go for it. But this is Launch Pad.
This is not about Reddit. It is not about writing. It is about your relationship with resistance itself.
No Teeth, Then Gum
The name comes from a Korean expression: 이가 없으면 잇몸으로 (if you don't have teeth, use your gums). It's about how babies eat before they have teeth; they gum it. They don't give up on eating because they don't have the ideal tools. They work with what they have.
When you encounter resistance:
- Notice it. "I really don't want to do this right now."
- Don't justify it. Don't look for rational reasons to avoid the task.
- Do it anyway. Imperfectly. Badly. With resistance.
- Then examine. What was that feeling? Where does it come from?
There's a very big difference between saying "I don't want to do Reddit, so I'm just going to be somewhere else" versus "I tried Reddit for four weeks. Here's what I don't really like based on my actual experience."
The On/Off Relationship
One of the most universal patterns: we love being "on" once we are doing the work, but the transition from off to on feels monumental.
What you will find is that you unconsciously really like not doing anything and you unconsciously really don't like doing something. That is a hurdle. That's a relationship you really have to understand.
Stop and start is not actually this massive shift. But something in your unconscious is making it feel that way. Examine that.
Doing Difficult Things With Ease
Imagine juggling. You drop a ball. Two approaches:
- With ease: "Oh, I dropped it. Let me pick it up and try again." (calm, curious)
- With pressure: "Fuck! Why did I do that?!" (frustrated, tense)
Same task. Same failure. Different heart.
We spend a lot of time doing difficult things with a lot of pressure, with a lot of stress. I am asking you to relax into it.
Gum It Exercise
Rate your gut reaction to each task. Be honest. Use one of: Eager, Neutral, Mild Resistance, Strong Resistance.
- Writing something personal every day
- Responding to a stranger online
- Sharing your feelings out loud
- Doing something you know you will do badly
- Asking someone for help
Whatever rated highest: this is your edge. The thing you most want to avoid is the thing that will teach you the most about yourself. If it rated Neutral, watch for avoidance dressed as indifference. If you seem eager, watch for hidden resistance that shows up mid-task.
Set a 5-minute timer. Do this thing right now; but more important than the doing is the observing. As you do it, notice yourself: where do you feel resistance in your body? What stories does your mind tell you to stop? What happens to that resistance when you keep going anyway? The work is not the task. The work is watching yourself go through it.