Wading Through Resistance

A few short weeks ago, I finished reading The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield – a book that hit about a thousand home runs in my psyche, and deeply etched a few crystal clear realisations into it, too, such as these:

I have to write everyday.

I have to get on my yoga mat, everyday.

I have to spend conscious time with my breath, everyday.

I have to sit in stillness, every, fricken, day.

And not because I’m a sucker for punishment and I insist on boxing myself in with guidelines and must-do’s. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m a Head In The Clouds Pisces, and rules make me itchy. Expansive dreaming and freedom of choice is my idea of Perfect.

I must do these things every day for the simple reason that they’re the very things that I resist, and yet ironically, they bring me the most freedom.

I’m not exactly sure when this happened, but somewhere along the line, I came to understand that leaning into our fears pays off. it’s the lean that enriches our lives, and it results in courageous evolution.

It’s why I moved out of home when I was 16.

Why I journeyed to Japan with a man I’d spent only a few months getting to know (oh hi, future husband).

And it’s why I launched myself into the online entrepreneurial planet as a coach, having had zip, zero, zilch experience.

Fears point to where we’re supposed to go next. And the same’s true for resistance. We resist what matters most; what pays out the biggest lump sums of joy.

Resistance is self sabotage at it’s finest and most insidious. It’s fear, disguised as laziness, procrastination and excuse making.

I finished The War of Art while I was as the beach. I slammed the book shut with a smile and a puffed out chest, and if Steven was sitting next to me, I would have fist pumped him.

Then I sat up, and did a few spinal twists.

A few forward folds.

Some pranayama.

I closed my eyes and felt the sand in the wind hitting my left side.

Listened to the waves.

Sunk into the stillness behind it all.

And then I picked up my pen and I wrote this post.

In the book, Steven tells the story of a book that took him 26 months to write. When he punched out the words THE END, he declared: Rest in peace, Motherfucker.

I giggled with recognition as I read that.

He didn’t beat the book. He beat resistance. He finished what he started. And tomorrow, resistance will rub up against him again, and once more he’ll have to front up and take charge.

What are you resisting?

Pressing publish? Your ‘blow your mind’ exercise regime? Love from your honey? Your morning meditation?

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt in the short time I’ve been contemplating Resistance, it’s that, like fear, it aint the enemy. It’s a point in the right direction that just so happens to speak a language of opposites.  We’ve just gotta decide to translate it that way.

I’ve found a lot of comfort in utilising this translation tool. That book outline that was staring me in the face for weeks? Yep, it deserved my attention, and when I have it what it wanted, it came together like a breeze. But my yoga mat deserves my attention too. So does my crystal collection, and so does my Soul.

Here’s what I truly believe: Enthusiasm eats resistance for breakfast, and spits out the bones. So the real question is:

What’s it going to take for you to enthusiastically pour Awesome Sauce all over the important stuff?

Find a way to practice devotion in a way that makes your heart sing, and then follow the melody. And don’t forget… LEAN IN.

Looking forward to hearing from you below, and would be muchas grateful if you’d share this post with your peeps.