If simply understanding what it takes to create a happier life were enough to achieve that goal, reading a book, listening to a tape, or watching a DVD would be sufficient for any person seeking a happier life. As many of us have noticed, however, knowing what to do isn’t necessarily enough to get the job done. “I know what to do, so why don’t I just do it?” is one of the most frequently asked questions that we get from clients and students in our workshops. It’s puzzling to many of us that although we may believe that we know what life changes will make us happier, we often cannot bring ourselves to make them.

Newton’s third law of motion applies to this situation. It reads: When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body. Substitute the word “desire” for “body” and you have the answer to this mystery. For every desire that we have for some form of a change in our lives, there is a corresponding degree of resistance to change that arises from the all-too-human tendency to maintain the status quo. Even changes that we see as positive or that will result in improvements of our current situation will be met with resistance which will often sabotage a conscious intention to make things different than they have been.