Like most books I read, I’d heard of this one a few times before I got around to reading it. Clever title, I thought. Turns out that it’s a completely apt title and an even more awesome book. (Caveat: there’s a lot of strong language in this book, so if that sort of thing bothers you, you probably shouldn’t read it. Read Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit instead.) (Read Twyla’s book either way, actually. It’s just as good.)
So, Pressfield’s contention is that any kind of activity that creates order out of chaos — moving from a lower state of order to a higher state of order — will find opposition. He calls it Resistance, and it’s always there, every time you try to do almost anything creative.
Resistance obstructs movement only from a lower sphere to a higher. It kicks in when we seek to pursue a calling in the arts, launch an innovative enterprise, or evolve to a higher station morally, ethically, or spiritually. So if you’re in Calcutta working with the Mother Teresa Foundation and you’re thinking of bolting to launch a career in telemarketing…relax. Resistance will give you a free pass. (p. 17)
He’s right, you know. I deal with Resistance every single day, whether when trying to write (this is where I face it the most) or work on my magazine or do illustrations or even work on my family history. Giving it a name and being aware of it is a huge step towards being able to overcome it, as I’ve been finding in the week or so since I finished the book.
I should also mention that the book is surprisingly spiritual and more often than not coincided with my own beliefs. I like that. (Of course. :))
Anyway, it’s only a couple hundred pages and the chapters are very short (I breezed through half the book in a single sitting and only stopped because I was going to be late for a meeting), so if you do anything creative and find yourself getting stuck (and if you don’t mind some salty language), read this book.
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