What terrifies you?

I don’t mean ghosts and things that go bump in the night.  

I don’t even mean car crashes, freak weather, or the internet going down 😉

I mean - what is something you really would like to do and you just can’t get yourself into motion with it?

You come up with excuse after excuse about why you can’t do it, why you can’t do it now, why next year at the earliest would be better.

It’s something you know you want to do … but you’re feeling huge resistance.

Resistance

Resistance is what you feel when you heart and mind is telling you one thing, and your lizard brain - that thing that wants to keep you safe in the cave so the sabre-toothed tiger can’t get you - is telling you:

💥 NONONO, don’t do it!

💥 Stay here!

💥 Don’t take a risk!

💥 You may regret this!!

Now the thing is … this is entirely normal!

Your lizard brain is there to protect you, to stop you putting your hand in the fire, to save you from yourself, to stop you doing anything new.

But what was ever achieved without something new?

Birth is painful.

And stepping outside your comfort zone is painful!

That’s where this Resistance comes in.

The writer Steven Pressfield famously coined the word Resistance to represent the universal force that he claims acts against human creativity. Creatives of all kinds are oh-so-familiar with this concept!

It threatens to derail them at every turn.

And here’s the thing -

it only affects people who actually have something to offer!

Think on that.

As Steven says, “If you find yourself asking yourself, "Am I really a creator? Am I really an artist?" chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.”

And this goes for any creative endeavour. It doesn’t have to be art or literature or music.

Making something out of nothing is CREATIVE!

Building a new home, a new life, a new form of income, is CREATIVE! And those who are most likely to succeed are the ones most likely to be afflicted by Resistance.

So if you’ve got something you really want to do, to change, to create, and you’re feeling this grating fear that’s stopping you - you’re in good company.

The great people in the world, in history, became great because they overcame more. And remember, nothing gets created without labour pains!

I’m regularly confronted by resistance. In my work as a coach and a writer, I’m easy prey for self-doubt.

But this I know - if I’m questioning myself, I’m probably bang on the right path!

More from Pressfield:

“Were you put on earth to be a painter, a scientist, an apostle of peace?

In the end the question can only be answered by action.

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It's a gift to the world and every being in it. Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got.”

What have you got?

What do you want to give to the world? (Think you haven’t got anything special? That’s RESISTANCE talking!)

What are you really good at? You’d better believe it - you’ve got something that no-one else has!

Write in the comments below if you have a desire to move past your own spectre of resistance and achieve what you want!

And if you’d like to have a quick chat to help you to move past your resistance, let me know here.

If you’re stuck … you’re in the right place. 

I want to help you!