To neutralize force, use the ball concept.
Consider a ball suspended in some water. When you push this ball it will rotate in some direction, thus neutralizing the force of your push. If you push the ball dead center, it will move in the direction of your push.
The ball concept uses the ideas of ROTATION and TRANSLATION.
When someone pushes your body, you can simulate the ball idea by turning in the direction of the push. Unless a force pushes you directly on the center, the force should not have any effect on you. The conditions to make this work are that you have a firmly rooted stance, that the body acts as one unit, and that your body is able to turn right and left during the application of a force.
If a force can stay pointing at your center, you are lost.
In the Wing Chun system we occupy the center so that only the pivot option is necessary to neutralize force.
That's how you get beat. That's how good people get better. That's how smaller people can deal with larger people.