Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychologist, psychiatrist, and contemporary of Sigmund Freud. Jung is perhaps most lauded for his research into mind functions and personality types, including his introduction of the terms “introversion” and “extraversion.” The above quote on mental and emotional resistance is more often heard today in its abbreviated form, “What you resist, persists.” The idea is that by investing energy into avoiding, resenting, or denying our feelings and experiences, we give those hindrances power over us and prevent ourselves from moving forward. Jung’s quote suggests a counterintuitive notion: Allowing ourselves to accept and work through those difficult feelings makes it easier for us to process, heal, and learn from them.
