The resistance is the medicine.

Sometimes the bad thing is the good thing.

Sometimes…the splinter needs to stay for a bit.

In my work as a feng shui consultant, I’m always looking for the “thing,” the shift, the adjustment, the tweak in a home or office that creates the most momentum or relief. My teacher, AGP, called it the splinter when I was studying under her. Brilliant, right? That’s exactly what it feels like. Sweet relief. Release. An exhale. And then the good things can flow.

For example, one of my clients wanted to expand her business but she was working in a tiny dark corner on a tiny desk. Sis, how can you take up space at a desk that small? When we removed the splinter by moving her to a bigger workspace, she booked multiple new clients and had her highest revenue month of the year.

But here’s the twist: sometimes the splinter is part of the medicine. 

Sometimes the discomfort is a key ingredient in the shift you’re really craving.

I learned that this week.

Another client, another tiny desk. This time his back was to the door, and every time it opened the door would literally hit him. The metaphors wrote themselves. He felt unseen at work, tucked away in a small corner, and the door was already hitting him on the way out.

Naturally I suggested moving his desk to a bigger, brighter spot. He resisted. Hard pass. The desk was staying put. Every part of me wanted to push but I decided to let it go.

Turns out his real desire wasn’t to grow at his company at all. After a major health issue earlier this year, what he really wanted was less responsibility or maybe even a career change entirely. His resistance made sense. Moving the desk didn’t match the deeper desire to make a bigger shift. He needed the splinter to stay until he was ready to leave that job and move toward real joy and purpose.

This is also one of the reasons why bringing someone into your home who really understands energy and can see your big-picture goals can make such a huge impact. As Mary Poppins says in Mary Poppins Returns: the cover is not the book. Was I the only one who liked that movie?

It takes someone who can read between the lines, feel the energy, and release the pressure in the right places, especially when the resistance is actually needed. Sometimes the splinter has to stay for a while. But when the rest of your space is aligned, uncluttered, and flowing, that splinter becomes a lot more tolerable and your journey toward what you really want becomes easier.

Sometimes you have to go through the discomfort before the release and expansion. Sometimes you know the placement of your bed or desk isn’t right, and the resistance itself becomes the catalyst for what you actually want.

Resistance doesn’t always mean no. More often it means not yet. A pause. A hold. Trust that your path forward isn’t always in your hands. We can create the ideal conditions for smooth sailing but sometimes the boat still has to crash because it’s the wrong boat.

Here’s the summary if I lost you in the waves of this metaphor:
✨ Perfect doesn’t exist
✨ Sometimes the splinter needs to stay
✨ The challenge is the teacher
✨ On the other side is the reward

And sometimes when you ask for a shift, a big break, a cleanse, or a clearing, you’ll be surprised at what the obstacle actually is.

The paradox is this. The good thing might wreck you if it arrives too soon. Think too many clients at once and your business collapses under the weight. The bad thing might be exactly what’s needed to clear space for your next chapter.

It’s not good. It’s not bad. It just is.

The more we accept what is and focus only on what we can control - our mindset, our reactions, our energy - the more room the magic has to work. That’s when everything you desire finds its way to you.