July 4, 2019

The Resistance

Sent by Jonathan Stark on July 5th, 2019

For folks who are engaged in creative work (and who isn’t these days?) I highly recommend learning about what author Steven Pressfield calls “The Resistance.”

The Resistance is that little voice in your head that tells you that “you’re not good enough” and that “you’re an impostor” and that “they’ll all laugh at you” and that “it’s no use” and that “you should spend a few more minutes scrolling through social media before you get started” and that “you just need to do a little more research and then you’ll be ready” and … and … and… whatever else it can throw at you to stop you from birthing something new into the world.

Having had my eyes opened years ago to The Resistance, I now use it like a compass for identifying what I should probably do next. If I have an idea and The Resistance hits me hard, I’m probably onto something. This doesn’t make The Resistance go away, but it helps me move forward anyway.

Lots of people love Pressfield’s book The War of Art but the one I read (well, listened to) was Do The Work which is narrated beautifully by the author. I highly recommend either one.

(Thanks to JH for reminding me about Pressfield’s work in this area. Cheers!)

Yours,

—J

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