Hello, farm family!
I’ve been thinking about the concept of “resistance” lately. Often, resistance has a negative connotation, such as when adolescents resist parental authority. Although resistance is inherently difficult, it can be one of your most powerful tools.
Think about the plants you grow. How many varieties did you choose specifically because they exhibit resistance to pests or disease? Probably quite a few, right? Plants that make life more difficult for pests and disease make life easier for you!
Some of our plants are selectively bred for resistant properties. Others are genetically modified to create resistance where it didn’t originally exist.
In both of these approaches, the plant itself displays resistance without any additional inputs from the environment or you. This kind of resistance is a good thing.
Today I’d like to talk about a third type: induced resistance.
Why induce resistance? A 2024 article in Frontiers in Science, “Enabling sustainable crop protection with induced resistance in plants,” described induced resistance as strengthening a plant’s immunity “by stimulation with certain pathogens, pests, beneficial microbes, chemical agents, physical wounding or herbivory.”
In other words, the plant doesn’t mount a defense until an outside force attacks, injures or eats it. It’s somewhat akin to waiting to get in the shark cage until after a Great White took a chunk out of your leg. You might survive and learn valuable lessons, but you’re never going to be quite the same.
Because induced resistance always comes with a cost, we tend to avoid it in our crops. We apply preventative pesticides and herbicides. We bring in predatory insects. We use cultural practices to reduce pest and disease pressure.
We do everything we can to grow blemish-free plants that produce blemish-free flowers, fruits and vegetables.
The same is true in our personal lives. Farming is a challenging endeavor on a good day, so it makes sense that we would seek to make it easier by avoiding difficult interactions, uncomfortable changes and unfamiliar activities.
I completely understand that desire. In fact, my work with farmers specifically seeks to foster greater farm life satisfaction, efficiency and peace. Couldn’t we all use more of those in our lives?
The difficulty is that humans are no longer genetically programmed to effortlessly embody satisfaction and peace. Instead, our brains are designed to identify and remember threats and unpleasant experiences – so we can avoid them in the future.
Our external world doesn’t help. In high school science we learned that nature naturally moves toward a state of greater disorder. We see this in un-weeded gardens, fallow fields and children’s bedrooms. Without management, chaos abounds.
What this means is that our world and our own natures resist our attempts to achieve satisfaction, efficiency and peace.
I can hear some of you right now. “Thanks a lot, K. Just the type of good news I needed to hear today. While you’re at it, why don’t you give me a nice papercut and pour lemon juice in it?”
But there is good news! Just as induced resistance results in plants with stronger, more engaged immune systems, we can use our internal resistance to strengthen our character and create the lives we want.
How do we do that? We can break it down into steps:
- Recognize the resistance.
- Appreciate the resistance.
- Step into the resistance.
Recognize the Resistance
How do you know you’re resisting the very goal you want to achieve? Everyone experiences resistance in different ways, so you’ll need to take some time to identify your signals. Common signs include:
- Making excuses (I can’t do this because…)
- Avoiding (I am too tired for this … I’m going to take a nap – or pull weeds.)
- Denying (This really isn’t that important to me.)
- Deflecting (I don’t want to talk about this – how are you doing?)
One of my key signals is wanting to watch TV dramas all day. Pure avoidance, baby!
Appreciate the Resistance
Once you recognize your resistance, you want to take some time to appreciate it. Resistance is telling you that there’s something you really want and there’s something about getting that scares you on some level.
Excellent! This is the opportunity for you to sit down and process. Give yourself five to 10 minutes to write your answers to the following questions:
- What do I really want?
- What scares me about this? Do I doubt my ability to achieve it? Am I concerned about how my life will change? Do I fear others’ opinions?
Re-read your responses and write a sentence about what you notice or feel. (That reflection is where the real insight happens!)
Step into the Resistance
Now that you are clear about what the resistance is telling you – what you want and what you fear – choose one action you can take to move you closer to your goal. Maybe you want to expand the business into a new market. Commit to spending one hour researching the market online.
Maybe you want to retire but keep your farm in agriculture and your kids aren’t interested. Call your local Extension agent to ask if they know of programs that connect farmers with land.
What you do is less important than that you do. A “wrong” action is still a “right” action because you have discovered one thing that won’t work for you.
A word about learning to relish resistance: It’s not a one-time thing. The resistance we feel is like a rubber band. It’s always pulling us. We can either respond by moving forward into a new, exciting future or backward to old, familiar habits.
The more we learn to relish and step into resistance, the more likely we are to grow our own satisfaction, efficiency and peace.
What resistance are you facing? What are you going to do about it? Contact me at kcastrataro@pen-light.org or penlightfarmers.com if you could use some support.
It’s your time to grow!
