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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could just get on and paint or write or act without being nervous about it, without worrying what people think, without self-sabotage?
In the War of Art, Steven Pressfield calls these doubts resistance:
Have you ever brought home a treadmill and let it gather dust in the attic? Ever quit a diet, a course of yoga, a meditation practice? Have you ever bailed out on a call to embark upon a spiritual practice, dedicate yourself to a humanitarian calling, commit your life to the service of others? Have you ever wanted to be a mother, a doctor, an advocate for the weak and helpless; to run for office, crusade for the planet, campaign for world peace, or to preserve the environment? Late at night have you experienced a vision of the person you might become, the work you could accomplish, the realized being you were meant to be? Are you a writer who doesn’t write, a painter who doesn’t paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what Resistance is.
Resistance seems to go hand in hand with any endeavour that is close to your heart. Creative teachers such as Steven Pressfield or Elizabeth Gilbert will tell you that fear is…
