The Resistance That's Holding You Back

We’re all aware of the inner forces that work against us when we try to achieve our true potential.

In his book ‘The War of Art’, Steven Pressfield calls this the “Resistance”.

Resistance is the thing that stops us from sitting down and doing our best work.

Resistance is the urge to procrastinate and the false belief that we’re not ready.

It’s the voice inside our head that rationalises, creates fear and sways us from doing what we know we ought to be doing.

It even recruits our friends and family to hold us back from their own ‘resistance’.

“Resistance by definition is self-sabotage.”
— Steven Pressfield.

Resistance never goes away, but we simply learn to better deal with it.

When we fear doing something, it can often be an indicator that it’s incredibly important to us.

But we cannot let fear dictate our actions. When necessary, we must simply acknowledge it and push it to the side.

Everyone suffers from resistance, even the best of us.

But the pros don’t sit around and wait for inspiration to strike, nor do they suffer any less resistance than you or I, they simply get to work.

Do the work. Do what matters.

“I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”
— W. Somerset Maugham

This article was inspired by “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield.

Being the second time I’ve read this book, I’ve noticed how much inspiration Seth Godin has taken from Pressfield’s writing. Something about this second read made it connect much more.

Additional recommend reading: “The Practice” by Seth Godin.