A friend once lent me a Steven Pressfield book called The War of Art. In the book Pressfield talks about something called Resistance. Resistance is that force that keeps us away from our full potential. Somedays we encounter it as laziness and other times we find Resistance dressed in the clothes of routine. The point is that, if we want to make anything of ourselves, we must fight Resistance in this long battle of personal development.
I look back on this blog and feel a spectrum of emotions wash over me. I feel sadness for not writing more. I feel pride for many of the posts since many of them tell stories of past battles. I feel shame for some of the posts seem silly or condescending through the lens of time. I feel joy for the times I shared about my family. But the emotion I expected least of all, the one that is catching me off guard like a punch in the gut, is that of fear.
I’m scared.
I’m scared that Resistance has been winning.
I’m scared that I’m operating below my potential.
What scares me most of all is I’m not sure how long Resistance has been winning.
The Shift
In the 2013 movie ‘Jobs’ Ashton Kutcher, playing legendary Apple founder Steve Jobs says to a project lead:
Ok Jeff, let’s get a couple of things straight, we don’t do fine, we don’t accept things the way that they are and we don’t stop innovating.
In the movie I was reminded of an old Steve Jobs photo where he’s on his desk and there is a simple black poster with the word THINK written in rainbow colors and block font.
That poster along with the quote I just shared seem to have awoken something within me.
I don’t accept fine.
I don’t accept things the way that they are.
I never stop innovating.
Let the battle rage on. I’m here for the war.