“Resistance by definition is self-sabotage. but there’s a parallel peril that must also be guarded against: sabotage by others.” ~Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
Overcoming resistance is one of the hardest things an artist can do to preserve some creative sanity. I am well aware of all of that.
The interesting thing Pressfield suggests in this chapter is that resistance can come from the people around us. He writes here that when an artist gets the ball rolling, all systems are go and working, the people close to her become “moody or sullen.” This is a strange phenomenon. Family members, spouses can remark that the artist has become a different person. The closer the connection, the more bizarre their reactions and emotions.
This is sabotage from the outside.
It’s bad enough we have our own ways of stopping the creativity in it’s tracks, now we have to watch out for our loved ones’ barbs. Yikes!
Keeping our artist-selves out of that mire can be so debilitating, we may as well just stay there, stuck. The only thing we can do, says Pressfield, is to keep moving.
Next up: The Symptoms of Resistance. This should be fun.
