Writing Wednesdays
The Opposite of Resistance
By Steven Pressfield | Published: November 17, 2010
Here’s a subtle but crucial point for us to hold in mind as we slog through the trench warfare of the artist’s journey, battling Resistance every step of the way.
The Spirit of St. Louis on the way to Paris, May 21, 1927
Remember: Resistance arises second.
What comes first is the idea, the passion, the work we are so excited to create that it scares the shit out of us.
Resistance is the response of the frightened, petty, small-time ego to the brave, generous, magnificent impulse of the creative self. Resistance is the shadow cast by the innovative self’s sun.
What does this mean to us, as we duel our demons? It means that, before the dragon of Resistance reared its ugly head and breathed fire into our faces, there existed within us a force so potent and so life-affirming that it made Resistance freak out and load up the sulfur and brimstone. Resistance isn’t the towering, all-powerful monster before whom we quake in terror. Resistance is more like the pain-in-the-ass schoolteacher who won’t let us climb the tree in the playground.
But the urge to climb came first.
That urge is love. Love for the material, love for the work, love for our brothers and sisters to whom we will offer our best. In Greek, it’s eros. Life force. Dynamis, creative drive.
That mischievous tree-climbing scamp is our friend. She’s us, she’s our higher nature, our Self.
And she’s senior to Resistance. She outranks Resistance. She’s got more juice than Resistance.
When fear and self-sabotage threaten to get the best of me (which is plenty of times, believe me), I sometimes flash on Charles Lindbergh in his younger days, when he was struggling to find the backing for his solo transatlantic flight.
"The Lone Eagle," Charles Lindbergh. How much Resistance must he have felt?
What massive Resistance must Lindy have faced, trying to get the Spirit of St. Louis off the ground. “You’re too young, you’re too inexperienced. You’re broke, you’ve got no credibility, you’ve got too many competitors. You’ll crash, you’ll drown. What you’re trying to do has never been done and never will be!”
Lindbergh wasn’t Lucky Lindy or the Lone Eagle then; he was just a gangly young mail pilot from Little Falls, Minnesota. He had to listen to those voices, not only in his own head, but he had to read them every morning in the newspaper and endure them shouted at him with conviction in meeting after meeting.
How in the world did he persevere in the teeth of that Resistance?
Lindbergh must have heard the scamp in his head too. She was the opposite of Resistance, and she carried more rank. “Holy cow,” that cheeky little daredevil told Lindy, “What if we could pull this stunt off? What if you could fly the Atlantic alone? Would that be the coolest thing in the world, or what?”
The opposite of fear is love–love of the challenge, love of the work, the pure joyous passion to take a shot at our dream and see if we can pull it off.
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Thanks for the reminder: Love bears all things; love believes all things; love never falls. It is easy to think that Resistance came first, but when we remember that there is an unending well of love to shore us up, fuel us, we can do anything, because love is God…
Thank you so much for the weekly kick in the ass. How does somebody go about getting you booked for an interview?
Hi Steven, Another great blurb from you on resistance. Thanks! Loved reading the War of Art. Have thought about it’s wisdom many times since.
Excellent…thank you! Monday I passed by 25,000 days on the planet (68+) and am continuing to lead a non-profit…and…have begun two new LLCs this year. Some friends are trying to encourage me to sit in a rocking chair…but…there is way too much to yet do with my life. Thus, your post was a breath of fresh air and encouragement to a man who feels as alive as ever…and like he’s just beginning (though much has been experienced and accomplished already). I’m sending your post to my friends who have encouraged me to join them in their rocking chairs. I’ll visit them…on the way to my next adventure, which will be today! Again…thanks…and know an olde fan eagerly awaits your Wednesday ponderings.
Wes, usually my Wednesday morning “shot” comes from Steven, but your response was like a surprise double-shot. You’ve got 25 years on me, but honestly, I hope I merit to grow “olde” like you. Burning daylight, gotta run!
You always manage to say the right thing at the right time. Just when I need to hear it.
Thanks, Steven!
Thanks Steven, that’s exactly what I needed to get started this morning. I am in NYC again, writing a book and I am battling the biggest resistance in my life ever, because writing my own book, all by myself is what I love most. Thanks.
Of course if you are doing something you are passionate about there is far less resistance. Great post. Very thought invoking.
It’s the same inner critic that makes us stop climbing trees isn’t it. Thanks, I needed this boost.
Of course, some of us never stop; Joan Baez has fallen out of her tree. Good for her, I mean, I hope she’s okay but good for her.
“The opposite of fear is love.” This is a profound point in an important post, and much appreciated.
One of the great spiritual teachers of the ancient world wrote this: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).
The Greek word used here for love is agape, which is “divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love.” Agape is the highest, deepest, and best of The Four Loves, which also include eros (romantic or sexual love), phileo (friendship), and storge (affection).
As Mr. Pressfield so effectively teaches here and in The War of Art, when we fight the Resistance and pursue our creative calling with all that we are and all that we have, letting God’s Spirit work in us and through us, we receive help in the battle in the form of love, power, and self-discipline—formidable allies!
Thank you for the reminder. When resistance wins, when we shrink our dreams, when we don’t persevere and take on the big challenge, the world loses.
All there is to do is notice what’s going on, and then choose.
Brilliant hard-core wisdom….. thank you!