How do we utilize the part of us that holds us back?
An insidious part inside everyone of us prevents us from pursuing our dreams and living up to our true potential. Steven Pressfield called this the Resistance. We all have it. It takes various forms – procrastination, rationalization, a tendency to quit good habits and slide down the slippery slope.
It starts, however, as that familiar lurch in the stomach that happens when we sit down to do our work. It is this discomfort that causes us to put work off in the first place. It returns every time and retreats only when we stare down the barrel of a deadline.
The Resistance is useful because it is one-sided. It happens only when we reach for something meaningful. It doesn’t bother to show up when we do the familiar, the comfortable or the trivial.
When we take a step in the right direction, the Resistance shows up. Therefore, it can serve as our compass.