Releasing Resistance: How Letting Go Opens the Door to Growth and Abundance

As nonprofit professionals, we often believe the key to success lies in doing more: setting goals, controlling outcomes, and managing everything and everyone around us. But what if the real path to influence and fulfillment is actually in doing less—and feeling more? What if we stop resisting and start receiving?

In this episode of The Influential Nonprofit, I dove into the power of releasing resistance and why receptivity—not control—is the foundation for authentic leadership and sustainable success.

What Does Resistance Look Like?

Resistance is sneaky. It often disguises itself as productivity, perfectionism, or even helpfulness. But it’s rooted in fear and scarcity—fear of not doing enough, of being judged, of losing control. Here are a few ways resistance shows up:

  • Attachment to Outcomes: When your emotional well-being is tied to whether or not you hit your fundraising goal, you’re in resistance. It creates tension, desperation, and blocks the natural flow of opportunity.

  • Chronic Fixing and Helping: Are you constantly trying to fix your board, your staff, your community? That compulsion may feel noble, but it’s often a way to distract from your own needs and resist the discomfort of letting others grow on their own.

  • Overcommitting and Overscheduling: If your calendar is packed with obligations that don’t bring joy or alignment, it’s time to reassess. Busyness is often resistance in disguise.

  • Numbing and Avoidance: Whether it’s scrolling, binge-watching, or overworking—these are signs we’re resisting something that needs to be felt or faced.

  • Denial of Joy: Putting joy on the backburner because there’s "too much to do" blocks creativity, inspiration, and flow. Joy is not frivolous—it’s fuel.

What Does Receptivity Look Like?

Receptivity is a practice, not a personality trait. It’s about creating space for the good things you want to find you. Think of it like a reed in the water: firmly rooted, but flexible and open. Receptivity is...

  • Allowing instead of forcing.

  • Trusting instead of controlling.

  • Flowing instead of fixing.

  • Feeling joy even when the outcome is uncertain.

How to Release Resistance and Embrace Receptivity

Here are six steps I teach and practice in my own life:

  1. Acknowledge and Name the Resistance
    Notice where you feel stuck, tight, or fearful. Is it making that donor call? Letting go of a toxic partnership? There’s no shame in resistance—but once you name it, you can work with it.

  2. Reframe the Story
    What’s a more empowering version of the story you’re telling yourself? Instead of "I have to fix this," try "I trust others to rise." Replace "What if it goes wrong?" with "What if it goes better than I imagined?"

  3. Practice Surrender and Trust
    Surrender doesn’t mean giving up—it means loosening your grip. Detach from outcomes. Trust that the right clients, donors, and opportunities will appear in perfect timing. You can’t control what comes, but you can control how open you are to receive it.

  4. Focus on Gratitude and Abundance
    What’s already working? What are you already proud of? Gratitude shifts your energy from lack to abundance, and abundance attracts more of what you want. Try the 3-2-1 journal method: 3 things you’re grateful for, 2 “I am” affirmations, and 1 big win for the day.

  5. Make Space for Joy and Play
    Whether it’s karaoke, dancing, baking, or hiking—joy is magnetic. When you are lit up, you light up others. Joy is one of the fastest ways to open your channel of receptivity. Create KPIs (Key Play Indicators) along with your KPIs.

  6. Take Inspired Action
    Letting go doesn’t mean doing nothing. It means taking aligned action from a place of enthusiasm, not fear. What feels exciting and true? Follow that. Whether it’s a new idea, a connection, or a bold ask—move with intention.

What Happens When You Let Go

When you release resistance, you create space—for ease, for joy, for abundance. You become a magnet for aligned opportunities and people. Your influence grows not because you force it, but because your energy becomes inviting and grounded.

This isn’t just theory. It’s a daily practice. And like any muscle, receptivity grows stronger with use.

Let’s Go Deeper

If you’re tired of pushing, striving, and feeling stuck—let’s work together. I’d love to help you shift your mindset, release what’s holding you back, and step into your most magnetic self.

Click here to book a free Influence Activator Call with me

You don’t have to do more. You just have to let go—and let more come to you.

Maryanne Dersch