Overcoming Resistance: How to Unlock Your Creative Potential
November 13, 2023 | Supreeya S
You took the leap. You quit your job to pursue your passion – be it writing, painting or starting your own business. You feel so free. You’re insanely excited. You can imagine living your days in bliss, spending time creating your dream.
Barely a week later, you have no idea why you can’t get started. You’re stuck. You can barely sit at your desk. The commitment you made to yourself feels daunting.
You thought it would feel easy. You thought you would enjoy it. But now you dread mornings. Why is it so difficult to start? Does it feel worse than going to work? How?
This common struggle is something that Steven Pressfield wrote about in his book, “The Art of War.” He understands the feeling, having experienced it himself, and provides insights on how to overcome the force that hinders progress on our dreams.
Let’s explore 5 key ideas found in Steven Pressfield’s book on how to conquer this feeling and reignite your creative spark.
1. Identify the Enemy: Resistance
The force that impedes your progress is “resistance.” Resistance is an invisible but powerful enemy that operates within individuals, stopping them from reaching their full potential.
It is an internal force that opposes creativity, personal growth, and the pursuit of one’s passions. Resistance often emerges when we embark on meaningful projects that require effort, discipline, and commitment. It shows up when we “reject immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity.”
Resistance is a form of self-sabotage that often manifests as procrastination. It can also manifest as self-doubt, fear, distractions, rationalization, and other forces that prevent you from doing the work necessary.
Everyone faces resistance, but not everyone wins against resistance. The first step to overcoming its grip is to recognize that it is an internal, self-generated force. Identify the various forms that resistance shows up in your life.
“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance” – Steven Pressfield
2. Embrace the Daily Battle
Every day presents a new battle against resistance. Each day you are presented with a choice to make: to do the work or to avoid the work.
To build momentum, you have to show up and be consistent daily.
Pressfield suggests that the act of sitting down and starting to work will trigger a sequence of events that can lead to inspiration. Don’t underestimate the power of consistent, daily effort.
Overcoming the internal force of resistance requires a consistent and disciplined effort. Doing the work is the only thing that can help you defeat resistance.
Embrace discomfort. Learn the feeling of resistance. Know that when you wake up each day, it will feel uncomfortable. It will feel hard to do the work. But you have to do the work to get through the feeling.
“The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.” – Steven Pressfield
Beyond showing up, you need to focus on finding the right thing to prioritize in order to make progress in the direction that you want. What should you work on?
The book suggests practicing the “Principle of Priority” which states that you must know the difference between what is urgent and what is important, and you must do what is important first. This is a daily commitment to yourself. If you prioritize correctly each day, it brings you closer to your goals.
3. Use Resistance as a Compass
Resistance can sometimes show up in the form of fear and self-doubt. When it shows up, don’t ignore, suppress, or retreat. Recognize that your fear and self-doubt are a natural part of the process, and you can even use it to your advantage.
Notice what makes you feel fear and self-doubt. The more fear and self-doubt you feel towards a certain goal, the more important it is to work towards those goals.
Why? Because you care about it deeply. That’s why your feelings (of fear and self-doubt) are so strong. We can use those feelings as a compass in our life to guide us to projects that truly matter to us. Navigate towards what we’re resistant to so that we can move closer to something transformative.
Resistance is most potent when it’s trying to prevent you from making a breakthrough. We can also use resistance as an indication that we’re moving in the right direction.
“The enemy is a very good teacher.” – the Dalai Lama
4. Adopt a Professional Mindset
Once you redefine yourself as a professional in your craft, you will find it easier to combat resistance.
Regardless of whether it’s our hobby or passion, it’s helpful to treat it like we would a profession. What that means is that you respect your hobby and passion like it’s your job. You’ll find that there’s less room for resistance to sneak in.
“Turning professional is a declaration of commitment.” – Steven Pressfield
How do we turn professional? Some of the ways we show professionalism in our craft is by:
- Showing up everyday
- Showing up no matter what despite external factors like sickness, bad weather, or unfortunate circumstances
- Being committed over the long haul and not treat it as a “hobby of the month”
- Making the stakes high and real by setting ambitious goals, deadlines, and consequences
- Not overidentifying with our job so that the healthy separation to help us critique our own work objectively and help us to continually evolve
- Mastering the technique of our job
- Having a sense of humor about our job so that you can fully enjoy the process
- Exposing your work and receiving feedback in the form of praise or blame in the real world
5. Develop Skills to Meet Inspiration
You need skills to transform what’s in your head into an impactful output. Focus on mastering the skills and techniques that will make a difference in your chosen craft.
Developing skills require intentional and consistent practice. You need to build the foundations for mastery in your craft.
Build skills so that you can prepare yourself when the opportunity comes your way. Having a solid skill set will allow you to translate your creative ideas into well-executed work. The more you brush up on your technical skills, the more confidence you will have to take on more challenging projects.
“Skill and inspiration are dance partners. As your skills grow, inspiration finds a more willing and capable partner in bringing your creative vision to life.” – Steven Pressfield
Conclusion
Overcoming resistance is a constant battle. Applying the five key ideas from Steven Pressfield’s book, “The Art of War,” will help you to make progress on your creative journey. Being aware of resistance at play, embracing the discomfort, and adopting a professional mindset will turn your wishful daydreaming into reality.