If creating a work of art (like writing a book) were easy, everyone would do it. You’re here because you’ve been called by something greater to step up and make a statement, a work of art, that will help improve the lives of others. And yet, you resist. Rather that fight your resistance (which is what most gurus will tell you to do), I’m here to help you overcome your resistance to writing by dissolving it.
Let’s start by looking at the resistance and how it’s showing up in your life. Here are the three biggest misconceptions about resistance:
1. You think it’s happening only to you. The truth is that everyone feels resistance. You are never alone in this. If you would just ask anyone who’s ever created anything, they felt this struggle inside, a push and pull between their desires and the way they actually show up to accomplish them. This is fear. We all experience it.
“Fear visits everyone. But make your fear a visitor and not a resident.” ~Max Lucado
2. You think you are “less than” because you feel resistance. How many times have you berated yourself for not being perfect? What’s happening is that you are buying into the ego’s point of view that your desires are too big or too difficult – but only for you. That’s when you give up.
“Here’s the mistake we make when we listen to the voice of self-loathing:
We misperceive a force that is universal and impersonal and instead see it as individual and personal.” ~Steven Pressfield
3. You think you must fight resistance. Once you begin to see resistance as an enemy to be conquered, it’s already won! You will never win that fight. Instead, you can make your resistance irrelevant.
“Most people do not understand their true power lies in releasing resistance – which is the only obstacle to their true power.” ~Abraham Hicks
Find something greater than resistance.
I’ve found there are at least four things that are greater than resistance. Focus on these to let your creativity flow
Clarity. Resistance creeps into your flow when you lack clarity. You can’t find clarity where you have none, so focus on the clarity you do have. When you begin writing, what is one thing you know for certain, without a doubt about your topic? What is one story you remember with vivid detail that illustrates what you want to say? Start small. Grow momentum as you write down the things you have clarity on.
Curiosity. Creativity grows from curiosity. Remember when you were a child and you wondered about the world and how everything worked? Did you take things apart so you could learn how to put them back together? What questions do you have about your writing topic? Can you be childlike today and get excited about learning something new?
Permission. Have you ever noticed that all around you, there are rules and restrictions? “Stand here.” “Don’t do this.“ “You’re doing it wrong.“ So many things in life are designed to make us stop ourselves. You’re probably not even aware of all the ways in which you do so. It’s hard to get permission from others to be what you want to be. So you must give it to yourself. Give yourself permission to be anything and everything – a good writer, a bad writer, a prolific writer, a funny writer, a wise and caring writer. The choice is yours. Only you can give yourself the green light.
Practice. The more you do something, the better you get. Period. Talent is one thing, but if you don’t practice you won’t develop it. So give yourself time to practice writing. Every day. You can journal or write letters. You can write blog posts or anything else you desire. Practice builds momentum and it builds habits. Practice makes resistance irrelevant because in the presence of writing you cannot have not writing.
The four techniques I’ve described are are designed to take you closer to your joy. In the end, joy is your number one tool to dissolve resistance. Make that your goal the next time you sit down to write. And the next time. And the next time. You can’t go wrong with an attitude like that.
Which of these four techniques will you try with your writing? Share below!
