Yesterday I reread Steven Pressfield’s, The War of Art.
It’s not a long book, so it didn’t take much time to get through.
But oh my gosh! … do I wish I reread it sooner.
Despite it being full of woo-woo sorts of concepts and him snatching bits from all sorts of religions and esoteric teachings…
The core of the book on the “personality” called Resistance is such an eye-opening concept.
It’s something I think every freelancer should be aware of.
In fact, I recommend every single freelancer read this book. Then read it again. And again.
Reason being… each one of us, at some stage, will encounter this demon called Resistance. Probably in one of its forms such as procrastination or distraction.
But the most helpful thing I picked up this time reading it was:
When Resistance feels stronger it’s like a green light for us to plow on forward to do that thing it’s telling us not to… because it’s precisely the work we ought to be doing.
Giving a name to this enemy… who would love nothing better than us never sit down to work… is extremely empowering.
I could almost feel the surge of electricity course through my veins as I read.
Or perhaps I’ve been wearing too much nylon… and I should be preparing for a zap! ⚡
Anyway…
Reading the book this morning reminded me that I’ve got all these projects on the go…
But I haven’t finished the hard work of organizing them or planning them out properly. I was stuck because I kinda want to do them all at once.
So Resistance raised its head, pointed a gnarled digit toward me and cackled right in my face.
That was enough for me…
So I’ve now drawn up a complete plan of my business universe and how everything fits together.
But also mapped out what needs to happen first. And second. And third.
So I have my next steps forward.
I now feel much lighter… and confident that I’m heading in the right direction.
I want to encourage you: be aware of Resistance.
If you’re facing a strong aversion to doing work. It’s likely Resistance holding you back.
But it’s also signalling this is precisely the area you need to get stuck into and working on.
I highly recommend Stephen Pressfield’s book. It’s a good short read. And I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of it.
You can find out more about it on his book page:
Wishing you a very productive and procrastination-free week!