The Michelle Chalfant Show — Life from the Adult Chair 344: Overcoming Resistance with Steven Pressfield
Resistance. Like gravity, it’s such a common part of the human experience that few of us stop to acknowledge it, but it’s a force that exists in all of our lives.
It’s in the fear that pops up when we go to move forward in life. It’s in the inner critic, the imposter syndrome and the voice telling us we can’t. It’s in the writer’s block, the snooze button, the procrastination and the distraction.
It’s the force that pushes against our creativity and our efforts – especially the big dreams that are part of our soul’s mission – and none of us is immune to it (nope, not even the greats in their fields).
The people who accomplish great things aren’t people who don’t experience resistance; they’re the ones who can recognize it and choose to act anyway.
I was so honored to have one of my favorite authors, Steven Pressfield, on the show to talk about the dynamics of resistance in our lives.
As a writer, Steven understands this force intimately, and some of his most famous work, like “The War of Art,” has focused on the topic of resistance: what it is, where it comes from and how we can stare it in the face and move forward anyway.
In this episode, he shares his own 27-year journey of working with his ego to publish his first book, what he’s learned along the way and how he continues to dance with resistance to pursue his soul’s calling.
Listen to discover:
- What resistance is and where resistance comes from
- How to take action even with resistance (and why we shouldn't expect resistance to just "go away")
- The many different forms resistance can take
- How to work with resistant voices like the inner critic
- The mindset of an amateur vs. a pro (and how you can start thinking like a pro from the start)
- How to handle rejection and failure and get back up again
The danger in resistance is failing to recognize it. It’s so easy to listen to that negative inner voice and truly believe that something is too hard and we shouldn’t do it.
By naming resistance and even listening to what it’s trying to tell us, we can begin to separate our calling from our egoic fears and make the conscious choice to act anyway. When we do, we might realize it’s not nearly as hard as we thought it would be.
"When I would hear those voices trying to distract me or those voices telling me I'm unworthy, I would say to myself, 'Well, that's not me talking. Those aren't my thoughts. That's resistance.’" - Steven Pressfield
"I'm convinced that resistance is a force of nature." - Steven Pressfield
"No matter what your passion is, resistance is going to pop up." - Michelle Chalfant
"When you feel massive resistance to something, you know that's the thing you gotta do." - Steven Pressfield
"The more resistance you have, the more in line with your soul's mission that you are." - Michelle Chalfant
"The bigger the dream, the bigger the resistance." - Steven Pressfield
"We will think, 'Well, let me wait until the fear goes away and then I'll do it.' But the reality is that the fear never goes away." - Steven Pressfield
"Once you take action, resistance will recede." - Steven Pressfield
"Resistance has no strength of its own." - Steven Pressfield
"Resistance takes the form of a voice in your head. And the mistake we make...is we think it's our voice." - Steven Pressfield
"You certainly cannot argue with resistance. The only way is to dismiss it." - Steven Pressfield
"The ego, it's based in fear. It's trying to protect us on some level." - Michelle Chalfant
"When we build something big and we're here to help others, resistance is gonna pop up and rejection and failure. It's gonna happen. You keep going anyway." - Michelle Chalfant
LINKS & RESOURCES
Steven Pressfield Website
Steven Pressfield Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/steven_pressfield/
"The War of Art" (Steven Pressfield book)
https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026
"Govt Cheese" (Preorder: new Steven Pressfield book)
https://store.stevenpressfield.com/product/govt-cheese-signed-copy/
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