Resistance

I’m reading the War of Art by Steven Pressfield, and within this marvelous book for creatives is the idea of resistance. Resistance is those things that keep us from doing the creative work which makes us who we are. There’s about 40ish pages of what resistance is, how it effects us, and how it hinders us. The worst part is it’s all self inflicted. I’d overcome some of the aspects of resistance that hinder me but there were a bunch in there that I wasn’t aware of. Now that I know what they, are I can combat them. That whole “When you know the name of something it gives you power over it” thing. This particular post for instance was supposed to be out earlier today but I’d forgotten about it among the other things I’m doing. I decided this was more important, if not more necessary to do, because writing is who I am.

The other important thing I’ve learned about resistance that’s more present these days is how it can really get on you when you’re coming towards the end of a project. I’m feeling that right now with Part Time Gods of Fate, but I’m aware of it. That means I just need to push through.

It’s also important to know in a more general sense that this work I do, and that all creatives do, can be quite miserable at times, but the rewards for creating things that are lasting, rather than fulfilling our need for instant gratification, are worth exponentially more in the long run. I look back at three years of podcasting, which is over 150 hours of audio that I’ve recorded, edited, and released into the world, and that has more meaning to me than any candy bar I’ve ever eaten, TV show I’ve ever watched, or singular sexual encounter I’ve ever had. Now it’s time to build that fullfilment as a writer.