How to Slay the Resistance Dragon and Claim Your Dreams

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According to author Steven Pressfield, there is one main reason that people fail to take action when they really want to: resistance. Internal fears, procrastination, self-sabotage, avoidance, and self-doubt are all forms of resistance that can prevent you from taking action—especially, in the case of Pressfield’s work, creative action. In his renowned book The War of Art, Pressfield explores the idea of resistance and gives readers advice on how to push past it. Let’s say that you’re trying to complete a project that requires an enormous amount of creative input—for example, writing a novel. You have always wanted to write one and know that you would derive enormous satisfaction from the challenge and from seeing the completed work transformed from abstract ideas in your head into something real on the page. And yet, as compelled as you are to achieve all this, you sit down day after day in front of the blank page and produce nothing. Is it writer’s block? Are you simply a poor writer? Pressfield would say that all you are experiencing is garden variety resistance—that nagging inner voice that questions you, puts you down, and tells you that your efforts will be for nothing so you might as well give up.

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This internal and self-defeating force seems trivial, but it is powerful enough to consistently stand between you and the things you know you want. Pressfield talks about this force like he would a force of nature—something constantly pushing against your efforts. It’s all the negative thought patterns, blind spots, low self-esteem, self-biases, laziness, and plain old fear that keep us unable to act. Even worse, the more we procrastinate or avoid our task, the more our inner resistance might encourage us to think of this delay itself as proof that we are incompetent. It’s not just artists who struggle with this—any time you are trying to create something new, you may encounter resistance, whether you’re trying to invent something, compose clear communication, or launch a business endeavor. Pressfield states it clearly: "You are not your resistance." He makes this point again and again to emphasize the fact that procrastinating on a task is not proof that you should give up, or evidence of your lack of ability or competence. Simply, feeling resistance is normal and not a reason to give in or give up. All it really is?

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A common reluctance that all human beings experience during the creative process, and nothing to get worked up about. The only response we can have is to acknowledge it and take action anyway. So, if you sit down and find yourself unable to write a single sentence, your mind might start up with a complicated internal stream of self-doubt and criticism: This is hopeless, and your idea is really boring, anyway. Why don’t you wait till you have something interesting to say? Admit it, you have zero skill as an author. Oh my God, even if you did finish this stupid book, can you imagine how embarrassing it’s going to be when everyone reads it? Okay—so you’re encountering resistance. But what do you do once you realize this? Let’s say you start psychoanalyzing yourself and trying to argue back to the inner critic: Maybe you’re this way because your parents always told you that artists are selfish and deluded.

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Maybe that’s why. You ARE a talented author. You just need to believe in yourself. Maybe do some affirmations or something. Maybe it’s because you never went to a university, and you’ve got something to prove. Why have you always felt that others look down on you for that? But guess what? All of the above is still resistance. Talking about resistance is resistance.

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Feeling bad about having resistance—also resistance. You might be wondering what isn’t resistance. That’s easy: taking action. Wanting to figure out all the ins and outs of the emotional reasons why you’re not taking action is just a trap in the disguise of a solution—if it isn’t action, it isn’t moving you forward. If you fret over why you’re not taking action and get embroiled in complex explanations, justifications, and interpretations, recognize that this is just another form your resistance is taking. The longer you engage, the longer you delay in doing what actually matters—the work itself. Pressfield claims, then, that “you are not the problems that stand in your way. The problems are the problems. Work the problems."

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That’s all. Time spent on introspection, questioning, self-criticism, and so on is just time that could be better spent getting on with the work at hand. Two Ways to Overcome Resistance Pressfield says there are two main approaches you can take. You can wage war against your resistance, or you can “befriend the dragon." Both techniques require that you externalize this resistance as something that is not a part of you or your process—and so it can be handled at a psychological distance. Option 1: Wage War Imagine, says Pressfield, that your resistance is a formidable dragon, and you the artist are a brave knight who has to vanquish the beast. You must fight it, and you must win. It may help to think of resistance as an enemy to vanquish because it can activate feelings of competition and opposition. Framing your mission in terms of myth this way triggers a deep psychological sense that you are not alone—after all, the knight is equipped with a sword and armor, maybe a trusty steed, and a powerful sense that good always triumphs over evil in the end.

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This is another psychological benefit—the feeling that you are, ultimately, “good” and that you are valiantly questing against something that is unnatural and not at all a part of you. This framework provides a strong sense of energy, purpose, and power and can speak to a part of yourself that wants justice and goodness and wants to be strong and courageous in the face of something that would threaten everything you hold dear. It's worth mentioning that Pressfield is an ex-marine, so you can understand why personal mythology like this would appeal so much to him. In his book Do the Work, he writes “Resistance is an active, intelligent, protean, malign force—tireless, relentless, and inextinguishable—whose sole object is to stop us from becoming our best selves and from achieving our higher goals." Here are the steps he recommends for battling that “malign force”: Step 1: Give the dragon a name This externalizes it and gives the concept a psychological “handle." Make this name a shorthand for all the reasons behind the resistance—you’re not going to dwell on these reasons or rehash them again and again. You’re just going to slap a label on the whole mess and move on. Let’s say you call your resistance “Fatso” or “Who Cares” to emphasize the lack of bother you’re going to show it. Step 2: Ignore the dragon One trick the dragon can pull is to lure you into completely unnecessary battle in the first place.

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You could sit down to write, gird your loins, and prepare yourself for a massive face-off ... but why do that when you can just quickly get started before your resistance even has time to wake up and start challenging you to a fight. You don’t have to be ready or have an argument or a big analytical session before you can start. Just start. Step 3: Fight the dragon Sure, once you just start, you might find Who Cares bursting onto the scene with extra force. Fine. The dragon wants to stop you by any means necessary. The way you win against the dragon is to not stop. This bit’s important: If you turn away from your work and focus instead of stabbing at the dragon, you’ve already lost, since the dragon has succeeded in getting your attention off what matters. No, your task is to blast through the dragon’s distractions and continue on your path, undeterred no matter what.

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Move faster than the dragon. Don’t get lured in or trapped. Step 4: Take a break Pressfield says, “Some days you win and some days you lose. Why you lost doesn’t matter. It only matters that you start again." That said, you can take a break to recharge, regroup, and build your energy up. This is not the same as avoidance or procrastination. Instead, it’s about temporarily relieving the pressure so you can recuperate. Go for a long walk, give your brain some breathing room, think of something else for a moment, and return to your task later, feeling refreshed.

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The truth is that warring with the dragon takes energy. The dragon is enormous, strong, and persistent. It has far, far more energy than you do and is hellbent on standing in your way. Plus, a dragon never really dies—luckily, though, you don’t have to kill it. You just need to consistently keep it away long enough to get your work done. Knowing that the dragon is always ready to rear its ugly head later on actually empowers you. That’s because you’re not surprised or dismayed when it happens—you’re expecting it and already know what your response will be: carry on doing the work anyway, just like always. So, you sit down to do some writing, but find yourself browsing nonsense online for a half hour before you realize what you’re doing. You become aware that you’ve gotten distracted, and feel a pang of shame, self-doubt, and all the rest flood into you.

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“Oh, hello, Who Cares! I see it’s you again." It takes enormous presence of mind and strength, but you look at all the feelings of guilt, doubt, and shame and shrug your shoulders, turning away from them. Instead of going down some mental rabbit hole where you have an inner debate about screen addiction or ruminate over whether you should self-diagnose with “demand avoidance,” you put on your work hat and take action. At first it’s literally one sentence on a page, and it’s not genius. But then you take a deep breath and write another. “But there are people out there who are real authors, you know, and what you’re doing looks nothing like that ... ” You hear this inner voice and ignore it. You don’t argue with it. You just take a deep breath and put down a third sentence.

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This is what a daily battle against the dragon feels like. Option 2: Befriend the Dragon Granted, you might not be an ex-marine like Pressfield and find the war metaphor less compelling. For some of us, labeling something an enemy and using imagery of violence and force against it actually makes us fear that thing more. We activate our stress response and make our experience A Big Problem when it really isn’t. Plus, we may have a nagging suspicion that our resistance wasn’t some senseless beast, but a force that is at least in some part there to help us, protect us, or share an important message. If this sounds like you, then it may be worth your while to befriend the dragon, rather than wanting to chop its head off. This takes the attitude that you and your resistance just have different opinions, but that this doesn’t mean you have to go to war about it. Step 1: Say thank you Okay, so your resistance has made an appearance. Be grateful!

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Imagine that your resistance is actually trying to guide and protect you. It’s not a nasty adversary but a force that’s deserving of our respect, attention, empathy, and understanding. Note, however, that this doesn’t mean agreement and immediate acquiescence—only that you will engage politely and give the resistance the civility it deserves. Step 2: Actually listen What is your resistance trying to tell you? This means not judging yourself for having resistance, and not judging the resistance for existing at all. In fact, be curious about any judgment that comes up—where did it really come from? What purpose does it think it’s serving? You may discover these knee-jerk reactions come from past memories or old triggers. Step 3: Ask the dragon useful questions The dragon might have an important message or a much-needed lesson to teach you.

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The trouble with dragons is that they often want to talk about quite difficult, sometimes painful things, so we need to be very willing to listen and be honest about what we hear. This is not the same as agreeing with the dragon when it tells you that you’re a loser and everything you do will fail. Rather, it’s about understanding the nature of your more deep-seated concerns. Ask: What are you actually resisting? What is the dragon protecting you from? What does the dragon think will happen if you carry on down the path to the goal? What is the dragon afraid will happen? One good technique is to ask three questions in a row to get to the root of the resistance. For example: “Okay, Who Cares, what are you so afraid will happen, anyway?"

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“I’m afraid that everyone will read this book when you’re done!" “And so? What would that mean if everyone did read it?" “It would mean that we’d be exposed and everyone would know what we’re really like." “And so what would that mean? If everyone knew what we were really like?" “It would mean that they could reject us. We might lose friends or be abandoned." So there is the root of the resistance: You cannot finish your book because if you do, it might mean you lose all your friends and are rejected and abandoned.

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So, the dragon is not a mindless menace getting in the way, but is just scared and trying to protect you from pain and trouble. Step 4: Be discerning Now you have to be very careful. We’ve already seen that it can be a trap to get too tangled up with endless engagement with the dragon. So you have to consciously sort out the difference between •Irrational dragon worries •Realistic concerns Though your dragon can call your attention to something worth noting, it doesn’t mean that it’s wise—the wisdom comes from what you choose to do with certain negative thoughts and fears. When you are discerning, you hear the dragon’s warning (“people are going to reject you”) and you pay attention, but you don’t take it at face value. You ask: Do I have evidence to believe this? What can I do practically to prevent this from happening? Is this really the big scary thing I think it is? Can I moderate this sentiment so it’s more accurate?

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So, when the dragon chips in with its fears and warnings, you are better equipped to respond to it by saying something like, “Sure, it’s likely that not everyone will like my work, but that’s not the end of the world, and even if people don’t like my novel, that doesn’t mean they will completely reject me as a person. Every author has their critics—that’s normal and far from the end of the world." Step 5: Keep taking action Then you just get to work. The dragon will chip in again, and you’ll say thank you, perhaps noting down its concerns and politely telling it you will take a look later—once you’ve done your tasks for the day. Maybe the dragon flags a genuine weakness or blind spot for your attention, and that’s great. But your main task in befriending the dragon is to dispense with their concerns in the most rational way and get back to work as quickly as possible. Summary: •Choosing the status quo (foregoing action) is still a choice, and it comes with risks—sometimes it’s the riskiest choice. There is no way to remain in your comfort zone and grow at the same time, so learn to take strategic, conscious, and deliberate risks with the understanding that it’s normal to feel fear. Fear is normal but doesn’t have to be in the driver’s seat.

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•Be courageous not fearless; identify your goal and appraise the risks to going for it, the impact the goal will have on you, and the cost of not taking the risk. Then make a rational plan for how to mitigate those risks according to their probability of happening. •According to Grant Cordone, there are four main levels of action: doing nothing, retreating, taking normal levels of action (what most people do), and taking massive action (what the truly accomplished people are willing to do). •Nothing worthwhile in life comes by accident, but by taking action. The greater the action you take, the bigger the chances of success. Take average action, you get average results. Take responsibility for your goals and consistently choose to do more than the average person will. Take massive action and psychologically resign yourself to the fact of hard work. •One reason for self-sabotage is resistance—the negative thought patterns, blind spots, low self-esteem, self-biases, laziness, and plain old fear that keep us unable to act.

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But you are not your resistance. •Either wage war against your resistance or befriend it and gratefully listen to what insights it has to share. Either way, take charge of your process and keep taking action no matter what.