“Resistance will reason with you like a lawyer or jam a nine-millimeter in your face like a stickup man. Resistance has no conscience. It will pledge anything to get a deal, then double-cross you as soon as your back is turned. If you take Resistance at its word, you deserve everything you get. Resistance is always lying and always full of shit.”
“To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be.”~ Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
I just finished reading “The War of Art” (for the second time) and Steven Pressfield has Resistance pegged at every wicked twist and turn.
I was truly amazed at the ability of this “invisible force” to stop all of us in our tracks, to damage, delay and truly derail us in the pursuit of our dreams or even to improve our lives.
Even though Pressfield’s book was written about the pursuit of writing (mostly) and working through creative blocks, it truly applies to any aspect of our lives that we would like to improve. From simplifying your home, losing weight, breaking bad habits, or making that leap of faith to follow your dreams.
What does Resistance look like? Pressfield gives some great examples:
- FEAR
- self-sabotage
- sabotage by others (usually those closest to you)
- procrastination (this is the most common one)
- self-dramazation
- addiction (drugs, alcohol, internet, gambling, etc.)
- trouble and cruelty to others
- victimhood
- criticism of others who are beating resistance
You are starting to get the picture of Resistance, right?
Resistance is the invisible force that can (not will) keep us miserable and searching for what we know in our heart and soul that we need to be doing. To beat it you must stay on your game at all times and be vigilant in your task. Pressfield calls this,” turning pro.“
Pressfield also refers to “calling on your muse” for help also. Your muse is your allies, angels, genius or whatever you may call the unseen helpers in your life.
Turning pro means that you are willing to do the work, nose to the grindstone and embracing every aspect of the work. You are not waiting for success to find you, you are making it happen!
When you make up your mind to view yourself as pro the will to do the work follows.This is true whether you are following your dreams or wanting to lose 20 pounds.
To Resistance it doesn’t matter which dream or goal you choose, the minute you stop doing what you know you need to do then Resistance dances across the goal line and scores.
Doing the work is not easy and with Resistance nipping at your heels it will be tedious but you owe it to yourself and the rest of the world the effort it will take. Once you do turn pro then your work will take on a different feel and the things that were a big deal no longer appear that way.
Let’s look at the qualities of turning pro: (see if you like these better)
- Patience, the pro is willing to wait for gratification instead of jumping in head first with a level of intensity that cannot be maintained.
- Eliminates chaos and demands order in his/her life.
- Acts in the face of fear instead of trying to overcome it.
- Accepts no excuses for not doing the work every day, regardless of what Resistance has conjured up.
- Is prepared each day to confront his own self-sabotage.
- Dedicates him or herself to mastering the technique and learning as much as he/she can.
- DOES NOT HESITATE TO ASK FOR HELP (do I need to say this one again)
- Distance him/herself from failure or success, in other words, doesn’t take either one personally.
- Self-validates
- Knows his/her limitations and hires other professionals if needed.
Resistance is something that will always haunt your pursuits, how you handle it is up to you. I hope you choose to kick its ass by approaching everything you pursue by turning pro. Regardless of how small you think the job is do it like your life depends on it.
Now I would love to hear your comments about how you have beaten Resistance by turning pro or how Resistance is really kicking you right now and how you plan on turning pro to beat it.
Thanks for reading and please share the love of this post with someone in your life who might need help battling Resistance. We are all here to help each other!
photo credit: SurFeRGiRL30 via photopin cc
