The Silent War Within: Are you willing to fight this war?

The Hidden Resistance That Stops Your Creativity and How to Overcome It!

Hey there!

I am just thinking that you will be feeling that something was missing last weekend, and if you don’t know what it was, I am going to tell you that it was my article.

Hey,I didn’t publish an article, last week.

I wanted to write, I was even having article ideas, and I even sat in front of computer, but I didn’t click new post!

I don’t know why?

Because , once I click the new post, then it’s a must that I am going to write and publish an article.

I cannot say that I was lazy, because I consumed a lot of content, read a book, and got a lot of useful information!

I couldn't suppress the content I had consumed, nor did I force myself to write, as I had no desire to vomit it out.

Everyone hates vomiting!

I have been procrastinating a lot!

And I didn’t even hate it, but I am looking forward to improve!

I think it’s totally okay as there can be days when you are feeling down, not willing to do anything!

You should be able to embrace and accept every feeling, and emotion of yours without feeling guilty, because you are the only one who can accept yourself as you are, and you should do that!

You can’t stay active or hyper-active your whole-life!

Ups and downs are a part of life!

But, the point is that for getting somewhere in your life you need to start!

“It’s better to be someone, then to be no one!”

You need to start!!!

Procrastinating

Procrastination is the most common manifestation of Resistance because it’s the easiest to rationalize. We don’t tell ourselves, “I’m never going to write my symphony.” Instead we say, “I am going to write my symphony; I’m just going to start tomorrow.”

Steven Pressfield

This is really how we do it, we don’t tell ourselves that we are not going to do this at all, instead we are like, I will do this tomorrow, or on friday and this is really how I was not able to write even a single article last week.

Beating Procrastination

This procrastination can be okay, but procrastinating to start is worst!

Steven Pressfield talks about Resistance in his book “The War of Art”.

“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”

Steven Pressfield

This is just so true!

You can think can we define this type of resistance?

Yes, we can!

This resistance refers to the mental and emotional barriers that prevent an individual from taking action on important tasks, or in simple words, it is an obstacle that hinders progress!

This resistance arises from the fear ,the Fear of Failing!

The Stronger the fear is, the more we resist, it just becomes a cycle of resistance and failure!

The more we resist doing a task, the more important that task is!

We can use it as a measure of the importance of that task in our life, like I will not resist watching Netflix at all, but I can resist writing an article.

There is this Rule of Thumb in the book:

“The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.”

Steven Pressfield

So, the point is that the more resistance you are feeling toward a task, the more you need to make sure that you do it!

An Amateur and A Professional

Steve talks about the difference between an amateur and professional.

An amateur is someone who acts on inspiration , like when inspiration strikes, he is mode-driven(I think Steve is talking about me), not committed(I am committed), and his goal are focused on fun, money and status.

The Professional is the one who is committed to work and succeed, and is determined to follow his passion.

It’s good that Steve didn’t considered professional as someone who is having a 9-to-5 job.

This is the kind of professional which anyone following their passion can become!

Like a professional needs to show up, even when he is not willing to do so!

So, if you are having a passion, a dream and you need to succeed with it or earn money with it, you need to show up every single day like a professional and then you will be able to achieve your goals!

So, you should treat creative work as a profession rather than a hobby.

Self vs. Ego

Steven also talks about the difference between self and ego!

The self embodies authenticity, creativity, and a genuine desire to pursue one’s passions. It is the part of you that seeks fulfillment, often through artistic or professional endeavors. Conversely, the ego is driven by fear, self-doubt, and a desire for external validation. It perpetuates procrastination by convincing you that your efforts may not meet societal standards or it may result in failure!

Ego can lead to quitting on getting a negative review and comment, it may hurt your feelings and you can be like I am going to quit it as nobody likes it!

This can happen with writers here on Substack or any other platform, like me, I received a negative comment on Medium and I was feeling as if all my energy has been drained out, but I should not think like that!

So overcoming procrastination requires a conscious effort to separate the self from the ego.

It is the difference between a fixed mindset and Growth Mindset!

Growth mindset is when you make a mistake or you fail at something, you see it as a way to improve instead of thinking that I am not good enough, which is the case with someone having a fixed mindset!

So, In short!

You need to recognize procrastination as a form of self-sabotage. It’s a subconscious way of avoiding the discomfort and vulnerability that come with doing meaningful work. This realization is empowering because once you identify resistance, you can actively fight against it.

You must battle resistance daily and treat your creative efforts with the seriousness they deserve. Success comes not from avoiding procrastination, but from facing it head-on and working through it like a professional, regardless of fear, distraction, or doubt.

So, that’s it!

Until next time, keep dreaming big!

Sending all the good vibes from my corner of internet to yours!

Goodbye guys!