How you can kick Resistance in the butt

I’ve spend much of my life deep in Resistance! Or rather: for much of my life I didn’t make any big moves because I was afraid!

Afraid of quitting a job I hated. Afraid of not knowing what I wanted to do instead. Afraid of finding out.​  Afraid of a freelance life. Afraid of being poor. Afraid of being successful. Afraid of what others might think. Afraid of _____ [fill in the blank].

I tackled some of those fears. In doing so I slayed the Resistance dragon in those particular areas.

I quit the job I hated. I figured out what I wanted to do instead. It turned out freelance life actually agreed with me. I let go of all traditional securities (steady pay check, pension fund, house). I moved to a different country.

But resistance is like a many-headed dragon. Though I cut off some of its heads, others remained.

But then I came across ‘The War of Art’ by Stephen Pressfield. It promised to teach me how I could beat Resistance. Of course I got the book.

That was sometime in 2015. I spent the next 18 months resisting actually reading it. I finally read it last month.

I could quote you the entire book, but will leave it at this one:

Are you paralysed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, Fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be we have to do it.

Reading it was an AHA-moment for me.

Related Post: 3 Things to Conquer Fear and Live Your Own Life

Over the last 18 months (coincidence? I think not!) I’ve been stuck in fear. Many small ones, but mostly covered by the ‘umbrella’ fear of becoming successful. I used every excuse to not do things that could lead to my becoming just that: successful.

Every now and again, I would abandon smaller fears and move a few steps in the right direction.

But I’m done taking small steps! I’m done being afraid!

I will figure out what’s beneath my fear of success! And then I’ll beat Resistance!

Part of the battle plan is re-reading ‘The War of Art’ by Stephen Pressfield. I’m doing that in the book club over on Facebook in Tara Newman’s ‘Bold Leaders Revolution’. Discussing it with others helps me understand better how I’m going to conquer Resistance.

You can still join in. Just click here.

I don’t usually send you over to other coaches, but Tara has been my own coach and I trust her completely.

So I’ll leave you with this important question:

What is the work or calling that really scares you right now?

As always …

Go Dare Greatly!  #LiveYourOwnLife

Photo credit: Ashim D’Silva (Unsplash)