This summer I read “The War of Art“, a tiny book by Steven Pressfield.
Tiny, short, but really powerful.
I read a lot, that’s one of the few books that get you thinking, WOWed, increase tremendously your self-awareness, and… change you.
In essence, Steven Pressfield explains how something called the ‘Resistance’ is within us, trying to stop us from performing any kind of creative activity.
The subtitle explains it: “Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles”.
Creating something is hard, tough. Our ‘Resistance’ does all it can to avoid us doing it. Steven describes all sorts of costumes the ‘Resistance’ cloaks itself with. Luckily ‘Resistance’ can be overcome, it takes discipline and perseverance, and overcoming one’s ego.
What did this book change for me? I have now a name to put on all the more or less conscious attempts to avoid doing real work, to procrastinate. I have now developed tactics to have more quality time sitting at my computer, writing creatively, with no disturbances. I travel a lot and have a lot of activities; I can’t have a daily regular discipline like the one Steven describes for himself; putting a name on ‘Resistance’ has dramatically increased my productivity and creativity. And my self-awareness of when I win and of when I lose the battle with my ‘Resistance’
“The War of Art“, a tiny book by Steven Pressfield. It’s worth much more than its price or the time you’ll spend reading it. Read it! today!
… and don’t listen to your ‘Resistance’ who just told you you had other things to do! They are not so important!
