1Made for listening
TRANSCRIPT
I wanted to share a few takeaways and ‘ahas’ from a book by one of my favorite authors.
The book is The War of Art, and the author is Steven Pressfield. He was first introduced to me when a ripped copy of Gates of Fire - a novel about the battle of Thermopylae, made its way around a small cohort of us in basic training.
This is an extraordinary account of what the men of Sparta did and didn’t do at the hot gates as they faced the Persian horde led by Xerxes. In many ways, we wanted to be just like them. We were ready to meet our fate with our brothers with dreams of being sent off like Leonidas was in the movie 300.
[AUDIO CLIP PLAYING NOW… go listen 😉]
If you have never heard of Gates of Fire, maybe you know Pressfield’s first book, The Legend of Bagger Vance. This later became a movie starring Matt Damon and Will Smith. Bagger Vance, played by Smith, materializes when the protagonist, Damon, needs him.
Here’s a piece of his wisdom we should all take to heart.
“Yep... Inside each and every one of us is one true authentic swing... Somethin' we was born with... Somethin' that's ours and ours alone... Somethin' that can't be taught to ya or learned... Somethin' that got to be remembered... Over time the world can, rob us of that swing... It get buried inside us under all our wouldas and couldas and shouldas... Some folk even forget what their swing was like…”
Pressfield has worked at his craft for a long time. At 78, he has published more than 20 books, and he’s still going. Astonishingly, he didn’t publish his first book until he was in his mid 50’s. He consistently wrote for 17 years before being paid for his work.
I often revisit several of his books, and The War of Art is at the top of that list. Pressfield wrote this in response to being constantly asked by friends “how to turn the corner, make art, or start a business.” His answer - don’t let resistance win.
Resistance
Resistance, a universal force, has one mission - to keep things as they are. It is what keeps you from achieving your dreams and taking creative action. It shows up in the form of self-doubt, procrastination, and fear.
This from The War of Art -
Resistance cannot be seen, touched, heard, or smelled. But it can be felt. We experience it as an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential. It’s a repelling force. It’s negative. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, and prevent us from doing our work.
Pressfield’s point is whether you are trying to start something new, write your novel, make your art, or get in shape - resistance shows up. It’s that little voice in your head telling you all the reasons why you can’t or shouldn’t.
It’s when you say it’s too cold, too rainy, or your knees are too arthritic. It’s those unopened paint tubes and cellophane-wrapped canvases. It’s an evening of binging your favorite show instead of writing. Or the chatter in your head telling you someone else is better or you’re not good enough. It’s when your internal monologue is chock-full of ‘can’t’ and all the other justifications you feed yourself.
Pressfield describes how resistance is here, disguised - it’s like the terminator in the way.
Resistance is fear. But Resistance is too cunning to show itself naked in this form. Why? Because if Resistance lets us see clearly that our own fear is preventing us from doing our work, we may feel shame at this. And shame may drive us to act in the face of fear.
Resistance is unapologetically here to kill - your dreams. Seemingly produced by Skynet, it travels from the future to hunt you. It’s staring down at you when your alarm goes off and graciously helps you find the snooze button on your life.
The Evil Sidekick
Resistance has a sidekick - rationalization. That devious devil makes us feel better about many things - that donut, skipped workout, or a job masquerades as some story we are telling ourselves. Even worse, that career we pursued either to satisfy our parent’s dreams, chase status, or commas in our bank account.
It is as indiscriminate as rain. Rationalization steers towards easy now, hard later. Maybe you are stronger than me, but I don’t go a week, perhaps even a day, without letting this cagey little bugger own me.
Resistance, and rationalization, want you to fail. It will show up and do everything in YOUR power to shut you down—day after day.
The Bad News?
The bad news - is it NEVER goes away. Like the terminator, try to drown it in a vat of molten metal, and it will keep coming. It will keep hunting you with its beady little red eyes, trying to kill - your dreams.
[AUDIO]
Pressfield shares that resistance showed up even when writing The War of Art. Telling him that he had no business trying to share any wisdom with the world. As prolific as he is, he beat resistance back each day by hammering out those pages. Bottom line, he got to work — day after day after day.
The Good News?
Here’s the good news - resistance and its evil partner, rationalization, can be tricked and starved. First, they’re yours. They’re in your head telling you your own ridiculous stories. Second, they are your compass pointing you where you need to go. Pressfield explains.
Like a magnetized needle floating on a surface of oil, Resistance will unfailingly point to true North.
Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.
This last sentence is the most important, so I’ll repeat it.
The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.
Do you want more good news? Resistance is feeding on your fears. That’s its fuel, and fear is 100% internal. It is a thought, and thoughts are something you can control. Maybe not your first thought, but all the thoughts after that.
Right now, a voice is whispering that what I put into the world is not good. I’m a terrible writer for all kinds of reasons. That people will judge me and criticize me. Also, others are doing it, and who do I think I am? Who am I to think that the rants of this guy matter? All of that is resistance, and it’s in my head (or maybe you agree…see what resistance did there 😉).
As with everything, I’m not sure I have any of this under control. I’m sharing because my gut is that I’m not alone.
Tomorrow morning you will step into the ring with resistance and go toe to toe. Get honest with yourself. Is it keeping you from doing what you should do? Or from what you want to do? Are you hitting snooze on the real you?
And as you think about that, know that resistance will show up and get to work. The question is, are you?
My Takeaways:
1. Resistance is trying to keep things as they are
2. I am fueling resistance with MY fear
3. Show up and do the work - resistance hates that
4. Resistance is pointing you in the direction of your soul’s evolution
I will leave you with this scene from Bagger Vance. Let’s not get to the end of your spins on this little blue dot with too many woulda’s, coulda’s, and shoulda’s.
Yes you can... but you ain't alone... I"m right here with ya... I've been here all along... Now play the game... Your game... The one that only you was meant to play... Then one that was given to you when you come into this world... You ready?... Strike that ball Junuh don't hold nothin back give it everything... Now's the time... Let yourself remember... Remember YOUR swing... That's right Junuh, settle yourself... Let's go... Now is the time, Junuh...
I hope you found this helpful. If you did, please share it with someone, tap like, or leave a comment.
Take care out there. 🤟
Credits:
Pressfield, Steven. The War of Art. Rugged Land, 2002.
The Legend of Bagger Vance. Directed by Robert Redford, performances by Will Smith and Matt Damon. Dreamworks, 2000.
The Terminator. Directed by James Cameron, performances by Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn. Orion Pictures, 1984.
300. Directed by Zack Snyder, performances by Gerald Butler and Lean Headey. Warner Bros Pictures, 1984.
Resistance