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In This Article
Introduction
Have you ever wanted to do something creative or productive, but couldn’t make yourself actually sit down and do the work?
Maybe you wanted to read more books, start exercising, create YouTube videos, or start a business, but something held you back?
That something is called Resistance.
Resistance is a force that forever keeps us from realizing our dreams and accomplishing our creative desires. Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It is the root of more unhappiness than poverty, disease, and erectile dysfunction.
Most of us have two lives: The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.
Resistance is inside all of us. Resistance is a tricky enemy that sabotages our dreams and keeps them at bay. It is the source of our fears, doubts, excuses, and poor habits. It tells us our creative desires are not urgent, and can be done later. But, quite often, later becomes never, so we’re trapped in a state of creative paralysis, unable to fulfil our productive desires.
But how do we conquer Resistance and unlock our true creative potential? Welcome to my summary of “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield.
The War of Art Summary & Review
The War of Art was written by Steven Pressfield in 2002. It explores the concept of “Resistance”, and teaches us how to combat it in order to create without limitations, something which the author refers to as “Turning Pro”.
In this article we will explore the three main areas of the book:
1: Resistance. Defining The enemy.
2: Combating Resistance. Turning Pro.
and 3: Beyond Resistance. The Higher Realm.
So let’s dive right in…
Resistance. Defining the Enemy.
Resistance affects everyone, and it never sleeps.
Henry Fonda was an accomplished actor and he was still throwing up before each stage performance, even when he was 75-years-old. Resistance doesn’t go away. It manifests itself in many ways, whether it is through the fear of failure, self-doubt, or procrastination.
Knowing what Resistance is is only half the battle, but noticing how it strikes is key. Resistance manifests itself in many ways, but some of the most common are through:
Your feelings: You might experience reluctance from work, sometimes dreading or even fearing your to-do list.
Your thoughts: Resistance can often come in the form of rationalizations for not doing work, or excuses as to why it is OK to procrastinate on something…
And your habits: Deep down we know it’s not OK to give in to Resistance, and so when we do give in, we feel bad about it, and end up overindulging in easy ways to distract us, whether this is through our phones, TV, food, pleasure, alcohol, or drugs.
When Resistance strikes, it’s normal to feel emotions like fear, self-doubt, and “not wanting to do it.” After all, Pressfield says we only feel Resistance when we pursue work or behaviors that will enrich our soul, and help us rise to our true calling.
In other words, the more important the work is, the greater the Resistance will be not to do it.
Combating Resistance. Turning Pro.
Imagine you ran a business and someone called into work one day and said “Hey, I’m not coming into work today because I just don’t feel like it.”, they wouldn’t have a job for very long, would they?
Yet, when it comes to creative work, this is how many amateur artists act. They only sit down and do the creative work when they feel inspired to, which can be hardly ever.
In order to combat Resistance and have a successful, creative career, you need to be a professional. Professionals get things done regardless of how they feel. They don’t wait for inspiration to strike before doing their work. Professionals focus on their craft, pour their blood, sweat and tears into it, and practice daily to maintain it.
Arnold Schwarzenegger once said “There are no shortcuts—everything is reps…”, this is the perfect attitude of a true professional. This man became the world’s greatest bodybuilding champion, made millions in real estate, became the most famous action movie star, and then the Governor of California.
Everything is reps, but this extends to more than just the gym. Sure, if you lift enough weights enough times and eat the right meal enough times, you too can have the dream body.
On the same note, if you practice your craft, day in, day out, regardless of how you feel, no matter what field you are in, you’ll reach milestones and achieve things that amateurs can only dream of.
“There’s no mystery in turning pro. It’s a decision brought about by an act of will. We make up our minds to view ourselves as pros and we do it. Simple as that.” – Steven Pressfield
Beyond Resistance. The Higher Realm.
Some readers find this section of the book off-putting as it touches on spiritual topics and comes off in an entirely different tone than the rest of the book. Notwithstanding this, there are some great gems I picked up on.
Pressfield says it is our duty to pursue our passion. Resistance exists to stop us from discovering our true creative selves and living up to our full creative potential. But, on the other side of the coin, there are also allies out there who can help us fight Resistance. The author calls these the “Muse and Angels”. When we sit down everyday to do our work, the Muse and the Angels are watching over us, and we are gaining votes in their sight.
While others have taken this quite literally, calling this chapter nonsensical fiction, I interpreted this in a slightly different way.
Going Beyond
By sitting down and doing our creative work, we end up feeling better about ourselves. We gain more confidence in our abilities to fight Resistance. As such, we build stronger habits by doing so, making the process a little easier each time, although not totally getting rid of it.
Over time, our confidence makes us feel totally in charge and our good habits compound and become automatic. We no longer need to waste so much of our willpower and energy just trying to get ourselves to sit down in order to do the work in the first place.
When we are in this state, we have even more creative potential to come up with new ideas, and we can connect to a source of creativity we would have never been able to access before. We gain access to a higher realm of creative possibilities, a realm without the restriction of Resistance. The work we do in this state is our best work because our purpose has been reignited, and we create what is most true to ourselves.
The Muse is our new influx of creative energy we have when we battle Resistance and succeed, and the Angels are the lessons we learn from our creative battles; the realisation that knowing the power has been in our hands all along, and all we had to do is believe it.
Closing
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is great for anyone struggling with creativity, productivity or procrastination. Creative endeavors are challenging because we all face “Resistance”. Resistance originates from within and deters us from pursuing our creativity. But once we’re aware of “Resistance” and its qualities, we can beat it.
If you want to be consistent, you can’t rely on motivation and inspiration. You need to treat your dream as a full-time job. You need to be a professional.
Through the simple act of showing up, and completing those “reps,” something mysterious happens. The art we want to create manifests itself, and we reinforce our purpose and rediscover our creative potential.
Show up every day. Stay on the job, and commit to the long haul. Master the technique, and watch your life transform in ways you never imagined possible.
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