Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is a mystery.

Today is a gift.

That’s why it’s called the present.

When we're going through tough times it's often hard to remember that yesterday is indeed history, and that what is happening today, and what will happen tomorrow, will not necessarily be a repeat of difficult experiences.  Even harder sometimes to remember that we ourselves may be able to alter our approaches to bring about changes in ongoing difficult situations, or even in new situations.

No matter how we wish it or how hard we try, we cannot make anyone else change – only the other person can do that.  But often small changes in our own approaches can make a real difference in a fraught and often recurring situation.  

Finding a way to convince someone that their compulsive/addictive behaviour – alcohol?  drugs?  compulsive eating behaviour?  gambling? - is having very negative consequences in their lives...is not easy! Even more difficult to persuade anyone in the grip of such behaviour that they have the strength within them to change.
 
‘Client resistance rates rose when a confrontational therapeutic style was used and fell with a client-centred approach’.  Professor Janet Treasure

In other words, meeting resistance head-on will simply increase the resistance!