Okay. I’m admitting it. Admitting to my procrastination. I should be deep into a writing project, but I’m not. I’m avoiding it. Sure, busyness with my everyday business has taken up my time. But my summer is slow, I have the time to devote to this writing project.
However, I need a nudge.
That nudge is re-reading Steven Pressfield’s THE WAR OF ART, (I’ve blogged about TWOA before -- here and here.) In TWOA, Pressfield helps you to overcome the self-sabotaging power of “Resistance.”
Check out these money quotes and if you like what you read, devour the whole book.
“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance. 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."
"Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance. 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 arises from within. It is self-generated and self-perpetuated. Resistance is the enemy within."
"Procrastination is the most common manifestation of Resistance because it’s the easiest to rationalize."
"Aspiring artists defeated by Resistance share one trait. They all think like amateurs. They have not yet turned pro."
"To the amateur, the game is his avocation. To the pro it’s his vocation. The amateur does not love the game enough. If he did, he would not pursue it as a sideline, distinct from his “real” vocation. The professional loves it so much he dedicates his life to it. He commits full-time."
"Resistance hates it when we turn pro."
"Why have I stressed professionalism so heavily in the preceding chapters? Because the most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying."
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it. Begin it now.” – W. H. Murray The Scottish Himalayan Expedition
