I recently reread Steven Pressfield’s War of Art (and I also listened to the audiobook). The brief book is a three-part discussion of why we resist creating (i.e., creative block), how to conquer that resistance (get unblocked), and finally how to maintain a practice (keep the creativity flowing). I have mixed feelings about The War of Art. On the one hand, I enjoyed the “kick in the pants” style Pressfield uses to motivate creatives but, on the other hand, I found the invocation of the supernatural to be a bit out of place and oddly supernal in the otherwise down to earth book. Have you read the War of Art? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.
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Part One
Resistance
In part one Pressfield names our enemy in the War on Art and its name is RESISTANCE. Resistance is a force within us that keeps us from doing things that we know are important, valuable, and beneficial. Resistance will convince us it is easier and more fun to eat that bag of potato chips than it is to go jog for 30 minutes. Resistance will seduce us to work on binge-watching a mediocre series on Netflix rather than write our script for the play we’ve always wanted to write (Resistance might even trick us into thinking it is ‘research’ – ha!)
I know Resistance. I faced Resistance when trying to write this blog post. I’ve started and stopped so many times. I cannot even tell you why. I’ve read this book two or three times and I have thoughts on the subject matter that I think is worth sharing but… Resistance kept winning. It wasn’t until I decided to stop piddling around and doing this or that chore, or whatever, that I can do this and I WILL DO THIS. Se, here I am. Finally!
Pressfield starts chapter one with a rundown of his daily rituals and practices that he completes before he gets to work. I’ve heard other productivity gurus suggest a ritual is an important part of setting up a regular practice, this is an idea I find intriguing and want to pursue in later posts. Pressfield continues by revealing the secret that “real writers know and wannabe writers don’t” and it is that “It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.” Knowing this secret and being prepared to do the hard part (sitting down to work) is the key to winning the battle.
Pressfield asserts that “Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet.” I believe him. The following is a paraphrased version on Pressfield’s Resistance’s Greatest Hits:
Resistance greatest hits. Taken from: The War of Art by
Steven Pressfield
Characteristics of Resistance
Pressfield then describes the characteristics of Resistance. Some of the key characteristics are:
- Resistance is the enemy within. It does not come from outside influences. It can recruit allies to assist in your self-sabotage but, in the end, your
- Resistance rests within you, My Resistance rests within me.
- Resistance has no shame, it cajoles, double-crosses, it lies, and it is always full of shit.”
- Resistance is a know-it-all
- Resistance can help us – Whatever we resist most is guiding us to our true calling. The more important the calling the higher the resistance
- Resistance happens to everyone and there is no cure but there are weapons to beat it back
- Resistance doesn’t want to delay creativity it wants to completely extinguish our creative flame
- Resistance only attacks higher callings, self or community improvement, anything good and beneficial.
Pressfield finishes with the reminder that Resistance is strongest at the ‘“finish Line” and he illustrates this with the Homer’s The Odyssey where Odyssuius’s crew, excited about soon arriving home, took advantage of Odyssious’s (perhaps ill-timed) nap, to attempt to steal what they believed was of gold. They ripped the bag open, only to find the bag contained the adverse Winds (Which Odyssious received from Aeolus)! The released Winds drove the ships all the way back to their starting point. I.e., Resistance struck right at the finish line and destroyed all the progress made to return home.
Some Symptoms of Resistance
- Procrastination — I’ll do it tomorrow
- Empty Calorie Activities – Sex for sex’s sake, binge drinking, binge eating, binge-watching, i.e, activities done without mindfulness.
- Dramatics for attention-seeking
- Being critical of others – especially those who are battling, and beating Resistance (read envy).
Allowing these symptoms to go without intervention can lead to REAL PROBLEMS. Denying ourselves our dreams, goals, and aspirations is poison to our spirit. This can manifest in, at best, boredom, restlessness, guilt, lethargy, self-loathing. At worst Resistance might lead to addiction, distraction, depression, aggression, and self-destruction.
Like Giving Birth. Taken from: The War of Art by
So, now we know what we are fighting, and why we must fight. Now comes the battle plan
Part Two
Combating Resistance: Turning Pro
Part two starts with “Aspiring artists defeated by Resistance share one trait. They all think like amateurs. They have not yet turned pro.” At first, this idea seems a little off-putting, but in time it does make a lot of sense. The difference between amateurs and professionals:
Amateur Vs. Pro: From The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Pressfield describes what a writer’s Day Looks Like:
- Wake up with a feeling of dissatisfaction, fear, distant
- Aware of Resistance in their gut, respect its power but refuses to give in
- Do daily chores
- Keep the Principle of Priority in mind 1. Know the difference between urgent and important tasks. 2. Do what IMPORTANT first. WORK is what’s important.
- Start the battle against Resistance – i.e., start working
- Time passes and it is starting to flow
- Headed for the finish line, time to reap the spoils of war
- Relaxation time. The work is done, for now, Resistance was beaten… this time.
This should seem somewhat familiar. It is pretty much what everyone’s workday looks like. So, in a very real way, we have most of the tools we need to be pros based on skills we’ve learned on our work for others. We show up, We are committed to working because we have to earn our keep, We work to survive, we get paid for our services, we do not (hopefully) over-identify with our titles, we master the skills of our jobs.
The amateur, on the other hand, over identifies with his avocation
It is important to remember that the creative pro loves their work as they have chosen to follow their heart and devote their life to the pursuit. The difference with a pro is the ability to keep that professional distance which can help insulate your susceptibility to Resistance. Remember Resistance attacks those things that are most important to your heart.
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Being able to look at your work as a profession and understand there can and will be successes AND failures you can, hopefully, continue to keep plugging away even after the occasional disappointment. Pressfield reminds us that, “Technically, the professional takes money. Technically, the pro plays for pay. But in the end, he does it for love.” Pressfield offers that it might be beneficial to think of yourself as a corporation (or become incorporated) to help keep yourself removed from the emotional aspects of the creative life that are so easily targeted by Resistance.
The graphic below lists the characteristics of a pro.
Characteristics of a Pro: From The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Pressfield’s advice is to make up your mind to view yourself as a pro and then be that pro. Easy peasy. Right?
Realizing You Are a Pro. Taken from War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Part Three
The Higher Realm
The higher realm deals with allowing the gods (or muses, or angels) to bestow the “thoughts, words, and deeds” necessary to complete our work. Pressfield allows that it may be beneficial for some to think of muses or angels as something more in line with their belief system (universal energy, nature, or even genetic talent). The idea is that we should embrace having unseen forces on our side.
I’ll admit this part of the book was more of a difficult read for me. I have my ideas about spirituality which involves a belief that we are all interconnected and we depend on one another to survive but I also believe that we, as part of a larger web, have our contributions to add to the greater good. I don’t, however, put a lot of stock in the idea of celestial beings whispering inspiration and/or encouragement in my ear. When I think of the Muse I think of something within me that has found a state of flow and keeps it going. Perhaps my Muses or Angels are dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins or maybe my ‘inner voice’?
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Pressfield discusses the Jungian model of the Self and the Ego as part of the Self (with the Personal and Collective Unconsciousness). He goes on to suggest that Resistance dwells in the Ego and the Self is where our “Angels” liv. Remember, Ego is part of the self so I guess Ego is a gated community in the Self neighborhood? Anyway, Ego runs our day to day activities and those things that reinforce our understanding of me, myself, and I.
The Self, according to Pressfield, manages our higher purposes like our desire to create and evolve into better people (i.e., our Angels). Ego isn’t all too interested in the metaphysical worlds and likes to keep our feet on the ground, The Self, on the other hand, is interested in dreams, spirits, infinite wisdom, and consciousness.
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Pressfield lists the qualities of Ego and Self. In short, the Ego deals with physical realities, and the Self deals with possibilities and dreams. He goes to say that the Ego hates the Self, therefore, the Ego does not want us to waste time on heady interests like the arts (i.e. Resistance).
Pressfield rounds out book three with a few additional ideas about the Authentic Self (I.e., what we were born to be), Hierarchies in society and our crafts, Finding our Territory (rather than a place in Hierarchy – which we want to avoid). Those last two concepts, Hierarchy and Territory, are interesting to me, and I think it deserves a little more thought. I find the idea about how we approach our work as it relates to how we perceive our place in the world intriguing. I’ll noodle this a bit more and share my thoughts in a future post.
Final Reflections:
My three main takeaways from the War of Art are:
1. We are in a never-ending war with Resistance.
2. We beat back Resistance by being professionals in our craft (rather than amateurs or hobbyists)
3. Our Egos prefer things the way they are and the Self wants to keep improving. We can help the Ego accept our dedication to our chosen, creative, path by approaching it as a professional. This won’t stop Resistance but it will help manage its power.
When thinking about Resistance, Muses, Angels, God, and their roles in our creative endeavors, it feels to me like Pressfield is placing some of the responsibility four our success or lack thereof, on external factors in the form of spirits, deities, gremlins, and ghosts or, at least, how open we are to receive those external assistants. This, funnily enough, raises Resistance in me. I like to think of myself as open-minded and I do believe there are spiritual elements to the creative process but I don’t go as far as Pressfield. To me, spirituality is in the concept of the interconnectedness of all things. One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh brilliantly illustrates our interconnectedness/Interbeing.
“Interbeing: If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either. So we can say that the cloud and the paper inter-are. “Interbeing” is a word that is not in the dictionary yet, but if we combine the prefix “inter-” with the verb “to be,” we have a new verb, inter-be. Without a cloud and the sheet of paper inter-are.
I find myself thinking about this idea often as I enjoy entertainment, purchase food at the supermarket, take medication, etc., it is a wonderful way to remember that we are all truly connected and we benefit from keeping all the intersections in the web healthy and strong to keep the entire web intact. I feel this philosophy works well for the artist. Artists learn from one another. We look to other artists in our field for inspiration, tips on technique, and to learn from their mistakes and successes. There is no shame in looking at other artists. As Mark Twain stated:
There is no such thing as a new idea. – MARK TWAIN
I listened to The War Of Art via Audible. Give the gift of Audible:
