I’m chuckling to myself as I write this, because of course the morning after I make a grand declaration about writing every single morning, I have an early appointment and start telling myself that “I don’t have time to write today!”.
Resistance is sneaky and takes many forms to keep us from doing our best creative work. One of the funniest is the laissez-faire, relaxed, casual attitude about work: “Nah, you don’t have to do that this morning. What’s one day? You don’t have a ton of time today to spare!” Because while it’s true that one day is not a massive deal in the grand scheme of things, it’s also true that a practice is called a practice for a reason. It takes time. The days add up. Skipping days just because I don’t feel like it means that I’m not taking my creative practice seriously. And once that starts, it has a snowball effect.
Planned breaks are different. When we plan to pause, we’re being proactive. When we’ve already decided to take a break, it means that we’re not falling prey to those voices in our heads that tell us (when we’re tired, or hungry, or rushed, or all of the above) to just slack off, who cares, c’mon! But when we haven’t planned a break, defeating those voices and getting your butt in that chair is the only battle worth having that day.
By writing this, I’m defeating Resistance. I’m saying: You’re cute, but no. You’re funny, but I know I have enough time for this. You’re sneaky, but I’m sneakier. Thanks but no thanks!
As Steven Pressfield says, Resistance kicks in any time we’re trying to move from a lower plane to a higher one, which means it doesn’t just block us from our creative work, it also blocks us from our self-care, and our relationship-building, and all manner of good, positive things. I want to kick Resistance’s butt in every area of my life, but I’m starting with this humble daily writing practice. I’m hopeful that showing up here daily will help me beat Resistance in other areas too, like my daily exercise routine & eating more healthfully. It’s like a muscle, and I’m working it out.
