“There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers
don’t and the secret is this: it’s not the writing part that’s
hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from
sitting down is Resistance.”
~ Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and
Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Resistance sits on your shoulder not like a dear friend but a vengeful inner critic. What are your unlived dreams? Why aren’t you pursuing them right now? Writing is the one thing that I always wanted to do. Yet, as I get closer to writing the tougher it is for me just to sit down. I am reminded of those nightmares where you are running towards something but the harder you run the further away it gets. In September, I wrote of my bad habits; how procrastination would have me doing anything else but what I want to do. I will happily or mindlessly watch TV. Do laundry. Eat. Nap. I will feel myself pulled towards the computer or the pen and still switch the channel to see what else is on. What is going on here?
“Everyone has a purpose in life. Perhaps yours is watching
television.”
~ David Letterman US comedian & television host (1947 -)
Hmmm…. Could David Letterman be right? Am I reprieved? No. I am not and neither are you. Have you been reading these columns,taking a course, bought that book and still do nothing but let your dreams stagnate in some dirty pool in the back of your mind?
“Resistance is futile” or so said the Borg in the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. Now Jean Luc the captain of the starship may have been right in resisting the Borg’s intent to assimilate every species and create a universe of drones. Resistance then makes good common sense. Our goal here is to overcome the resistance that limits us and become who we were meant to be. Accept nothing less.
What is Resistance?
In The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
, he says, “Many of us have two lives. The one we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.” He goes on to outline the characteristics of resistance and explain how it manifests in our lives. He is more then hopeful that we can break its back.
We know the pain of giving into resistance. Each year we make goals only to forget them in week or months time. Gym shoes are unused. The ideas stay on the paper. We go to work and always wish
for something else. I have talked about resistance in its different forms in these columns. It is the monster that keeps us from our full potential.
“Do something. If it doesn’t work, do something else. No idea is
too crazy.”
~ Jim Hightower, The New York Times, March 9, 1986
Steps to beating resistance and living a fulfilled life:
Wake up.
Write.
There it is in a nutshell. If it’s not writing – then create art, start a new business, get married. Overcoming a bad habit or resistance means stomping it to the ground, turning off the inner critic and resolutely deciding you have something better to do with your life.
“Women who live the life of their dreams don’t get there by being dainty and darling. They demand what they want and do what it takes to make it happen. [That] could mean breaking a few rules, a few hearts and a few habits along the way, especially the habit of apologizing for who you are.”
~ Laurie Sue Brockway, A Goddess is a Girl’s Best Friend
Let’s Make A Deal
I have a proposition for the coming year. Let’s make a deal with each other. Put our dreams on the table and agree to begin to fulfill them. Each day, take one step closer towards that dream.
If you want to write – then write. It is fairly inexpensive endeavor. A 99-cent notebook and a ballpoint pen will get you started. Want to create art? Borrow the art supplies of any eight-year-old and make art. Want to have a healthful lifestyle?
Start walking. Eat one extra veggie a week. Get the idea? Support each other online in the public forum. Let’s begin today – a year from now what will we have created?
Writing Prompt Ideas:
Visualize: Image what your life will look like with dreams fulfilled. How do you look? How do you feel? Visualizing helps draw the desired result closer to you. Write the story of your goal fulfilled. Is it a review of the book/movie/play you finally wrote? Put lots of detail in there.
Describe picking up your award. What are you wearing? Who do you thank? How does it feel?
List your creative goals/dreams. Write all of them even the unbelievable ones. Be outlandish and wildly outrageous. Writing down your goals brings them into reality and closer to fruition. Dare to be bigger then you are today.
Create an image of your fulfilled dream(s). Draw it. Or create a collage of images cut out of magazines or the paper. What does it look like? Create the cover of your completed book or your byline in a newspaper.
Meditate. Spend time each day in quiet reflection. You will feel rejuvenated and ready to be even more creative.
Gratitude: Each day appreciate what you have. Acknowledge all the gifts of your life. Be thankful and willing to have more goodness in your life. Remember having abundance in your life allows you to be even more generous with those who have left.
The more you give the more you get. Finally, we aren’t meant to be mere shadows on the earth. We are meant to grow and thrive and be creative beings. Let’s support each other and encourage people in our lives to celebrate their best selves. Each of us is indeed a gift. Enjoy. I leave you with this prayer. I don’t know the original origin but it has been valuable to me.
May I be at peace,
may my heart be open,
may I waken to the light of my true nature,
may I be healed,
may I be source of healing for all beings.
