Expected, not Futile!
In Star Trek, the overwhelming and predatorial alien race called the "Borg" announce “Resistance is futile” like pushback is an inevitable fact and they've dealt with it before! But even when you’re the "good guy" and are trying to advance a Just Cause, it's good to have the working assumption that resistance is to be expected—especially once you’ve made the internal decision and committed to a path
Last time we looked at the bravery involved in saying yes or no when opportunities come along, checking them against your Just Cause rather than the short-term scoreboard. For me, that showed up as deciding to start the EMBA on my own even when it wasn’t requested and the personal costs were obvious. After weighing the trade-offs, it felt like the right move for the longer direction.
Then the external resistance kicked in anyway.
Why Resistance Shows Up
Resistance like this is expected for a few straightforward reasons. First, infinite choices often look irrational or costly on the short-term scoreboard—your decision serves something longer-term, but it can create friction with the world that’s still keeping score on quarters, convenience, or “how we’ve always done it.” Second, any real change disrupts the comfort of the people around you; routines, expectations, and relationships have to adjust, and pushback is often just the system trying to return to equilibrium. Third, finite temptations are seductive and constant, so when you resist the easy path to protect your cause, others who are still playing a more finite game will naturally nudge you back toward it. Fourth, courage to lead (or simply to live intentionally) is rare, so your choice quietly stands out and draws skepticism. And fifth, we’re all fallible—some of the external voices might carry a useful signal about a blind spot, even if most of it is just the usual noise of shared humanity reacting to change.
That doesn’t mean the decision was wrong. It usually just means you’re playing a longer game than the scoreboard most people are watching. Most of this external resistance is typical friction. Still, I try not to tune it all out. If a comment keeps landing or creates a little knot, I sit with it briefly and check whether it points to something I should adjust to serve the Just Cause better, or if it’s mostly the expected reaction.
Handling the Internal Voice That Creeps Back In
Even after the big internal decision is settled, smaller internal resistance can still creep back in on tough days—motivation dips, old fears of overdoing it, or the voice saying “maybe later when things calm down.” That’s where a practical idea from Jordan Peterson has helped me more times than I can count. He points out that when you want to pick yourself up or get back on track, you often need to start with something embarrassingly small—something you could do and might actually be willing to do, no matter how humble it feels.
I use a version of this for my own habits, especially after a break from running or when adding an exercise into my daily routine. My strategy? I guess how much I could realistically do today without feeling pain tomorrow. Then I cut that in half, just to be sure. My plan is to keep doing these things, so I don’t need to be in a hurry to get to some magical or arbitrary number. I need to develop the habit and keep playing the Infinite Game.
Tools in Your Toolbox
A few other simple habits have made the external stretches easier to navigate too:
- Pause and name what the resistance actually is—comments from others, short-term demands, or fear of rocking the boat.
- Share the honest weight of it with one person who understands the longer view, without needing them to agree or fix it. Mentors are wonderful in this role!
- Do the smallest doable version of the next step that still protects the direction. Modest progress counts on heavy days.
- Remind yourself that courage often comes from knowing others are in the game with me, even quietly.
Of course, none of this makes the pushback vanish, and some stretches still cost more sleep or energy than I’d like. But these steps help keep the decision from slowly eroding under outside noise.
What This Looks Like in Leadership
Leaders who protect their cause do something similar—they rally the will and resources they actually have instead of pretending the finite temptations aren’t tempting. They resist cutting corners for better quarterly results and stay focused on the longer responsibility to the people and purpose they serve.
If you’ve landed on a choice that felt right after careful thought and now you’re dealing with external questions or pressure trying to steer you back, you’re in familiar territory. This resistance is expected when you’re playing for something that outlasts any single quarter or easy week.
Do Not Be Assimilated!
Take a quiet look at where that outside resistance (or the occasional internal dip) is strongest for you these days. Then choose one small way to keep protecting the direction—maybe something embarrassingly small—while staying open to anything that might actually help it. But know that you can expect resistance. If what you were doing was completely obvious to do, it would never have been a question or decision.
Expect some resistance, internal and external, as you play the long game with your Just Cause and keep Aiming Up!
