Resisting what is happening in your life is a sure way to frustration, anger and depression. No one likes bad things to happen to them. Everyone would prefer that life move along according to their needs, desires and whims. The fact is that life has its own way of moving and it is often contrary to where you want it to go.

There are things you can resist. For instance, you can resist the urge to speed through a school zone or pull your credit card out to buy the latest technological marvel which would be nice but is not a necessity. These are the actions you have control over.

There are things you can't resist. If you're on a raft moving down stream over rapids, you are not going to be able to go against the river no matter how much you want. You are also not going to be able to change the fact you lost a job, or that your beloved pet died or that you have a terrible disease. If you do resist what you cannot change, you generate emotions which can be debilitating for you and cause relationship problems with those who care about you. Two of these emotions are anger and depression.

If you keep resisting what has happened in the past or your current situation, you continually push against life. You keep fighting what is there and over which you have no control. No matter what you do it won't change. Your loved one still has cancer, your job is still gone or there is still construction rendering impassible the road you want to be on at that very moment.

When you keep resisting you are going to become angry that you can't get your way. You'll push and push, making yourself miserable. When you lash out, your anger pours over those around you damaging relationships. People begin to avoid you. The situation hasn't changed and you've added new problems with your relationships.

Some people turn anger inwards. They seethe inside themselves. Their anger has no outlet so it eats away at their inner self. Depression and inertia are often the result. You find yourself unable to move forward in any area of life. It takes tremendous energy to get out of bed in the morning. Your relationships suffer because you have no energy for them. Your lack of acceptance is killing you emotionally. Your loved ones have no idea what to do for you and back away. Your life is spiraling downward.

You have to come to a place of accepting the reality of your life. Yes, it is painful to have to admit to yourself that no matter what you do you cannot change what is. As long as you do not move into a place of acceptance you cannot rebuild your life. You have to realize where you are. From there you will be able to make the necessary changes to manage where your life now is.

Think of it this way. If you don't accept that you are in Houston, Texas, you will never be able to figure out how to get to Sedona, Arizona. When you realize where you are, where you want to go, then you can move forward... but you have to quit battling what is.

Author's Bio: 

Cathy Chapman, PhD, LCSW has her doctorate in Mind-Body Psychology. She assists people in achieving their dreams of health, wealth and abundance. Learn how to access your personal power by reading the Special Report "7 Methods for a Practically Impenetrable Immune System." Go to http://www.OdysseyToWholeness.com.