Do the Work

Do the Work by Steven Pressfield

I finally finished Steven Pressfield's follow up to The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battle today.  Do the Work took me three days to complete, but only because I was simultaneously reading three other books.

It was well worth the read.

Like Pressfield's previous book, Do the Work focused on the forces that keep us from doing great things.  He calls these forces Resistance, which he loosely defines as fear, self-doubt, procrastination, addiction, distraction, timidity, ego and narcissism, self-loathing, perfectionism, etc.  

I can relate.

Excuses, excuses

How easy is it to say that we don't have the time/money/motivation/support/desire to do big things?  Too easy.

The following passage particularly struck me as I was reading:

You may think that you've lost your passion, or that you can't identify it, or that you have so much of it, it threatens to overwhelm you.  None of these is true.

Giving in to Resistance  

Growing up, I would get so passionate about things (saving the world, photography, education, animals, etc.) I could barely hold the tears back.  I was overwhelmed, and didn't know how to put that passion into action, so much of it was wasted.

Then, a few years back, I moved to Europe.  It was an amazing experience, don't get me wrong, but I lost my passion somewhere along the way.  I thought I had missed my opportunity somehow; that I was meant to do big things, world-changing things, but alas, I'd chosen to get married and move to Europe instead so I'd deliberately directed myself away from that path.  It was too late for me, I'd cry to my husband - I was no longer a passionate person.  

Feeling empty and void of ideas didn't suit me particularly well.  I became depressed and hopeless.  But I now know that the feelings I experienced weren't due to actually losing my intelligence and passion for life - it was just Resistance talking.  

Finding your passion (again)

I may not know exactly where I want to put that passion yet (i.e. can't identify it), but I know it's there, and I'm doing all that I can to bring it forth.  

And you can do the same.

PS.  I would highly recommend Steven's book.  It will get you off your butt and doing those amazing things you always wanted to do.  Plus, the electronic version is currently free on Amazon, curtesy of GE.