The Resistance
This is my second blog post - I’m only just starting to get the flywheel turning. A lot of pushing and pulling still needs to be done to gain the necessary momentum. The flywheel metaphor and the use of the word “pushing” implies that this is some strenuous task. In theory, it isn’t. Writing something I’m interested in once a week isn’t that difficult. I know not everyone wants to be a writer or a videographer, but this can be applied to anything anyone is interested in or wants to do. Any small step that we can take to become the person we want to become, is the one we should take.
Most of us have that ideal profession or lifestyle in mind. The one we think would be perfect for us, and yet we don’t do much to work towards. Some may think it would be amazing to be a stand-up comedian, start a business, or eat healthier. It’s so easy to look at successful people and say to ourselves, “I could do that if it weren’t for X”, or Y or Z. But for some reason, there is something in the way, and that something is usually us.
A book I read recently, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, picks apart this phenomenon and discusses all the different ways we get in our own way. He uses the term “resistance” and elaborates on all its different forms. He describes it as being all-encompassing and indiscriminatory. We all face it, and it prevents us from doing our “work”, i.e. any action necessary to get us closer to our goals.
Reading this book changed my perspective and shattered a lot of the hollow stories I told myself about why I couldn’t do something. The forms of resistance that first stood out to me were fear, criticism, and self-doubt. Fear comes in many forms. For me, a lot of it comes from the unknown. Not knowing exactly what’s on the other side of an action can lead to me fabricating “what if” stories that are quite pessimistic. These fabrications are usually ones like “What if no one likes it?” or “What if I’m not good enough?” What I’ve realized is that it’s okay for someone to not enjoy what you do or put out there. It would be unrealistic for everyone to like you or your product, so not trying because of these assumptions would be even worse. We all have self-doubt and we may not be great in the beginning, but giving in to that fear and not trying at all just means you’re guaranteed not to improve, so why not give it a go?
You may be thinking, “this is all good and well, but I have too much going on to focus on myself”, but Pressfield addresses this too. Resistance takes the form of self-dramatization, procrastination, and rationalization. There may be a lot going on in your life, but crediting that as the reason you aren’t working on something you’re interested in is just an excuse. It’s the easier option than being too busy or doing the work. Procrastination also plays a big role, as it is a lot easier to pick up our phones or turn on the TV. We then rationalize these actions in many ways. The bottom line is, we make time for the things we prioritize.
Whether it’s having too much on our plate or not enough time (but just enough for a quick scroll that turns into an hour), we can find the time if we make the work our priority.
Pressfield goes on to give advice on how to combat this resistance and explains what a “professional” would do in battle. He uses the word professional because anyone who gets paid for what they do is a professional. Irrelevant of whether it’s the job we want to be doing or not, we can learn some valuable lessons from it. What do most professions have in common?
We show up every day no matter what.
We stay on the job the whole day.
We are committed for the long term.
The stakes are high and real - we have necessary monthly expenses.
We accept remuneration for our labour.
We don’t over-identify with our jobs - meaning we are not our job descriptions. Pressfield explains that amateurs tend to over-identify with their avocation or artistic aspirations which leads to taking it too seriously and the crippling fear of failure.
We master the technique of our jobs. Anyone who shows up consistently to complete the same task will inevitably get better at it.
We can apply these qualities to any endeavour, and we will see results. So why not apply them to the things we enjoy doing? The people who seem like professionals experience the same resistance but succeed by applying these principles to everything they do.
Two more memorable “combat techniques” are patience and the willingness to ask for help. I have come to terms with patience and understand that most things take time. We can’t always expect instant gratification. We live in an age where instant gratification is the norm, so having the self-control and discipline to continue in its absence is what matters. The willingness to ask for help is something I personally struggle with. People who have worked hard are usually willing to help, and share what they know if asked. For some reason, I have a mental block about asking for help. I think it’s a combination of pride and not wanting to waste anyone’s time. These are both rationalizations and self-dramatization that I need to overcome. I’m aware of it, I just need to do the work.
Maybe this all seems a bit preachy. Maybe I haven’t touched on the specific excuse you tell yourself to justify not doing the work. If that’s the case, then I’ve either done a poor job of convincing you, or I’ve derived such an exceptional amount of value from the book that I’m the outlier. Maybe this rant is for my own selfish motives and putting this out there holds me accountable. This gives those close to me ammo to use against me whenever I offer up a weak excuse. Although I may not like it in the moment, it will help me in the long run. I’m creating a failsafe of sorts.
I’d like to think that this long-winded pep talk will help someone think for a second or maybe even convince them to read The War of Art. But if that isn’t the case, at least I put my thoughts into words, and now I can’t get away with any half-arsed excuse I conjure up. In all honesty, I should just be doing the work.