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The Only One Who Can Write the Book is Me
If I don’t write the book it won’t be written.
Sometimes the hardest part of writing is sitting down to do the writing.
When this is your job, it can be particularly frustrating if you find yourself unable to do the work.
In his brilliant book The War of Art (if you are any type of artist, this is a total must-read!) Steven Pressfield refers to the things that get in the way of our art as “resistance”. Resistance is all about what’s comfortable — even when it’s uncomfortable. It keeps the status quo of your life even when you don’t feel as if the status is quo.
Resistance is the brain weasels telling you you’re not good enough, smart enough, wise enough, or otherwise capable. It pushes back in one form or another anytime you are striving to do work to create beyond your present circumstances.
Hence, when you find yourself blocked, distracted, feeling defeated, or just otherwise blah — that’s resistance.
I downloaded the audiobook of The War of Art and have listened to it multiple times now. I am, in fact, currently listening to it again. Why? Because combatting resistance is an ongoing, life-long fight. So long as you strive to make anything of or do anything with your life on your terms — you’ll meet resistance.
