Have you ever struggled with doing something you enjoy?
Creation is a struggle. A war. Every day a million distractions try to keep you from staying focused and getting things done. In his book, The War of Art, Steven Pressfield terms the impersonal force behind these distractions Resistance.
Pressfield gives us a roadmap. First, to know the enemy. Then how to fight it. Having overcome it, he turns to discuss the source of human creativity.
Resistance
Pressfield identifies what Resistance is, how it works, and how it tries to defeat our own improvement. Distractions like fear, social engagements, laziness, and even good things like family life, are all leveraged by Resistance to stop you from doing it.
Turning Pro
Now Pressfield tells us how to directly fight Resistance. Central to this task is his concept of the Amateur vs the Professional: Amateurs play for fun, professionals play to win. He outlines how to become pro by neutralizing Resistance’s tactics to prevent it.
The Higher Realm
If section one dealt with Resistance, section three deals with the source of creativity itself: a higher realm beyond our five senses. His discussion here is more ethereal than material. While I didn’t object to that in concept, his descriptive pluralism may be jarring.
Concluding Thoughts
Pressfield understands how the mind works against itself and his advice for defeating Resistance is top-notch. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking to overcome their struggle with creativity.
Read critically, read receptively. Read this book and you will learn how to get things done and stop giving in to excuses and distractions.