“Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do.
Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.
Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That's why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there'd be no Resistance.”
― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
Love this book! It’s about the struggle of an artist - but really it’s about the struggle of anyone who is trying to achieve something.
How often resistance shows up and gets in the way of progress. But Steven helps us through the understanding that resistance can be a good thing, that it is there to show us we really want something.
That if we didn’t really care, there would be no struggle.
And actually that’s sometimes just what we need to - something that we are just not too bothered about!
I’ve been challenging my thinking about ‘find your passion and you’ll never do a days work again’. I just don’t know if that’s true.
When you are passionate you care, and when you care that takes energy. The wins are amazing, but there are many hills before you get there, and as you keep going.
Sometimes you might just want to do some work, do a project, something, that you don’t really care about too much. There you will find no resistance, you might just do a good job, with any of the struggle. And it will be a the break, the breather, the pressure release you need.
It’s not to be underestimated!
If Resistance is telling us that it’s there because this thing really matters, and that’s feeling all hard, and tiring, and futile. Then maybe to do the opposite of that, just a job that doesn’t have so much at stake is a good next move!
That’s my head mess today! :)
eleanor
Where is Resistance showing up?
You've made my brain go pop!