* OVERVIEW:
DO THE WORK! Overcome Resistance and get out of your own way by Steven Pressfield is a book about the emotions/ obstacles one experiences on the path to his/her creative breakthrough. Be it business or a work of art, everything starts with a faint impulse of desire. Then the impulse becomes stronger that it initiates action. But most of us are stopped dead in the tracks by self-doubt, negative voices from self/ family and friends, or by failure.
This book teaches you that you need to recognise that you have an enemy. And that enemy is unstoppable, and the enemy is inside you but not you. You need to become aware that the voices in your head- they are not you. You don't have to believe them. You don't have to give away your power to these invisible forces. Resistance is real, but you can battle it out and defeat it. It doesn't have to stop you! Don't let fear of failure/ fear of success stop you. You've got to stop listening to the chatter in your brain.
You do it by not thinking. Your first step is always to start before you're ready and to start with the end in mind. Don't fret about the details, don't do any research at this point. Because research leads to procrastination, and now you are researching about your work instead of working. This is vital to keep in mind- that you just START. Your next step is to cover the canvas and fill in the gaps. Create a rough outline of all the characters, if it's a book that you are writing. Just try to fill in the gaps.
Act at this point, but don't reflect. Once you've done with the action part, review and reflect on how you can make it better, how you can tweak the characters, add any essential elements, and just keep fine-tuning your work. At this stage, you are allowed to do the research that will help you improve the quality of your work. The next step but the most dreaded step is to ship it. Meaning, to put your work out there to be judged, critiqued, and rated.
Resistance is at its highest at this point and most people stop just before the finish line. But that's not you! You understand that shipping is the most vital part, for without it there wouldn't be the birth of the work you're trying to bring to life. Don't abort it at this pivotal moment. Don't fear failure, for failure is nothing personal, and failure is not a trait- it does not define your worth and it does not determine your fate.
Failure is just a problem you've failed to recognise and/ or solve. And if you fail, the problem is the problem and you need to start working on the problem. And don't be afraid of success. Your success inspires others around you, just like you, to go after their dreams and achieve more. No one should ever feel ashamed or be made to feel ashamed because of their success. You and I have one job- and that is to fulfill our highest and truest calling.
And trust me, you will never feel more at peace and joy than hitting the ground running towards your dreams. Because this is the reason why you and I are here- to go after our dreams and keep checking off the dream list one by one and living the life authentic to oneself.
* ORIENTATION
Our Enemies
Our Allies
* THE BEGINNING
Start Before You're Ready
Start At The End
* THE MIDDLE
Fill In The Gaps
Cover The Canvas
Act, Reflect
The Belly Of The Beast
Ringing The Bell
The Problem Is The Problem
Work On The Problem
* THE END
Killer Instinct
Be Careful
Kudos To You
Start (Again) Before You're Ready
* ORIENTATION:
Our Enemies:
Resistance- will show up anytime you reject immediate gratification in favour of long-term growth. Its aim is to kill before you even start.
Rational thought- comes from the ego. It argues with you like the best lawyer there is and talks you out of the work you plan to do.
Friends and family- can sometimes be toxic to us unfortunately as they have seen us as we are and would squash our progress of evolving into our higher selves.
Our Allies:
Stupidity- being naive and dumb can work in our favour in this case as it allows us to jump before truly comprehending the depth of work and near impossibility that lies in front of us.
Stubbornness- being mulish is helpful when following our dreams. Pursuing dreams can be painstakingly hard and being mulish helps us to stick with it through thick and thin.
Blind faith- trusting the soup. Having faith in the process and that everything will turn out well.
Passion- it's what makes us get up and pursue our dreams in the first place.
Assistance- when the universe aligns the right piece of information and the right people needed for your project.
Friends and family- they can be our biggest cheerleaders and believers in our dreams.
* THE BEGINNING:
Start Before You're Ready- Don't research and don't think. Just begin. It does not have to be perfect, you don't have to figure it all out. Just start.
Start At The End- Always know your end goal and crystallise the outcome you desire and then work your way backward.
* THE MIDDLE:
Fill In The Gaps- Start taking action and don't stop to review or reflect at this point. Don't do any research. Just act.
Cover The Canvas- Create a rough draft. Don't fret about the details. It doesn't have to be perfect.
Act, Reflect- Once you've finished with the rough draft, research. Keep improving your script. Review, reflect, and keep making the necessary changes.
THE BELLY OF THE BEAST- Everything keeps going well and then the negative voice comes back. It freaks you out and squashes your faith. And then you hit resistance.
THE 7 PRINCIPLES OF RESISTANCE AND THE TWO TESTS:
Principle 1: There is an enemy
The awareness that there is an enemy is the first principle.
To validate its existence and that it is real is half the job done.
Principle 2: This enemy is implacable
The enemy is unstoppable.
It will not back down.
Principle3: This enemy is inside you
This enemy is the negative voices in your head.
The chatter in your brain that talks you out of every good thing.
That subtly influences you without your awareness.
Principle 4: The enemy is inside you, but it is not you
The negative voices in your head are not you.
You are not to be blamed and not only are you not to be blamed, but you are not alone.
It's universal to everyone.
Principle 5: The "real you" must duel the "resistance you"
You are the awareness that recognises the negative voices in your head.
The real you must defeat the negative voices.
The only way to progress is to fiercely kill the dragon- the resistance.
Principle 6: Resistance arises second
First, comes desire which ignites us to take inspired action.
Next, comes resistance.
The moment you desire to progress and evolve it comes and stands in your way.
Its aim is to kill and abort the fulfillment of your dream.
Principle 7: The opposite of resistance is assistance
Assistance is the good-willed forces working in your favour.
And these forces help you manifest your dream.
It can be good breaks, the right connections, or friends and family backing you.
Resistance's Two Tests:
Test Number 1: How bad do you want it?
dabbling_interested_intrigued but uncertain_passionate_totally committed
Your resistance is inversely proportional to how badly you want it.
And if the answer is anything less than being totally committed, you will not have the strength to fight the dragon and see the project through.
Test Number 2: why do you want it?
Is it for the:
Babes/ dudes
Money
Fame
Because I deserve it
For power
To prove my old man (an ex-spouse, mother, teacher, or coach) wrong
To serve my vision of how life/ mankind ought to be
For fun or beauty
Because I have no choice
Pick your why. If the answer is not the last two on the list, you need an attitude adjustment.
THE ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT CHAMBER:
You must leave behind:
Your ego, sense of entitlement, impatience, fear, hope, and anger.
All grievances related to your birth- how neglected or unloved you were when you were born.
All sense of personal exceptionalness related to your birth- how rich, cute, and lovable you were when you were born.
All of the previous two, based on subsequent acquisition post-birth, however honourably or meritoriously earned.
The only items you get to keep are love for the work, will to finish, and passion to serve the ethical creative muse.
Ringing The Bell- In the US navy SEAL training, the trainers put the trainees through much physical and mental ordeal just to try to break them. The reason being, the last thing they want is someone who would break at the time of war. They require mentally strong and physically fit people. No wonder it's one of the hardest training ever. And on the shore they have a huge bell hung so that if anyone wants to quit they can go and ring the bell and they will be granted relief from the training or punishment and sent home.
So when the trainees are mentally exhausted and physically drained all they need to do is to go and ring the bell. If the bell is rung, it's over! In the same way, you and I have a bell hanging over us. Will we ring it? Will we throw in the towel? After all, we don't have a coach imposing on us a structured/ disciplined life. We have no one to cheer us on. There are no objective milestones and no points of validation. It's up to us to create structure and discipline in our lives. And our responsibility to set goals and create an action plan to achieve them.
The Problem Is The Problem- As we go about the project we will hit obstacles and encounter failures. And when we do fail it's not the end of the world. We tend to magnify failure, take it as a personal offense, and approach it as doom. In all truth though, it's very temporary/ momentary, but what it does indicate to you is that there is a problem that you've failed to identify and/ or solve. And it's up to you to figure out what the problem is and come up with ways to solve it.
And remember, if something is not clicking it's always your fault! It indicates that you're doing something wrong or not doing something right. It's up to you to review, reflect, and correct your course.
Work The Problem- When you fail, ask yourself these questions:
What went wrong?
Why didn't I see that?
What can I learn from this?
What can I improve?
What should I remove?
How can I make sure this does not happen again?
Reflect on your course and make the necessary changes.
* THE END:
Killer Instinct- It takes guts to ship your product- to be evaluated, judged, and rated. And resistance is at its highest before the finish line. Because the only aim of resistance is to kill the birth of your dream, remember? That's why it's at its fiercest before you reach the finish line. It will make you doubt your work, it will crush your faith, and make you perturbed about the shame and defeat you might experience.
And the key to overcoming it is to realise that this is just a voice in your head and this is not real. The situations are imagined and not a prophecy of your fate. Also, use this as a driving force to create the best piece of work that you possibly can and to get as much feedback from the experts on the topic so that you can be at peace that you've done all that you can to produce the best piece of work there is.
And when the results are published you will most probably be swept by the upside. And even if it did not turn out as you hoped it to be, at least you have the satisfaction that you did your best and gave it your all.
Be Careful- Now that you've successfully defeated resistance and shipped your product don't slack off. Be vigilant because resistance is still an obstinate but defeated foe. You will still hear the voices, and you will still feel fear, but it will not cripple you as it did before. Because now you are aware of the existence of your enemies and the tactics they play. It's much easier to drown out the noise and keep moving forward. Nevertheless, don't be negligent. Always keep a careful watch on your thoughts and how it tries to influence you.
Kudos To You- Congratulations! You've done it. You've overcome the dragon and published your work. You have frustrated the dragon's plans and overcome resistance - be it internal resistance or external and it calls for appreciation and praise.
Start (Again) Before You're Ready- Now start with your next project. Repeat the process all over again. Your previous success or failure should not influence and interfere with your current project. Each endeavour is a new start, a new beginning. Don't bring your accolades or past failures into the new project that you are working on.
* CONCLUSION:
Lastly, I urge you to read the book. The concepts in the book are something we already know but were not aware of. Though the solutions seem simple it is what is keeping us from doing the work and seeing it through. Personally, what I benefited from reading the book is:
knowing about the presence of an enemy which is inside us but not us-which is the chatter going on in our brains.
Rational thoughts can talk you out of you pursuing your dream.
Passion is not enough you need total commitment.
Start before you're ready.
The unrelenting will to see it through.
Failure is not a trait. It is just highlighting the problem that you've either failed to identify and/ or solve.
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