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Your enemy is smart, sly and tricky. As a writer, you need to learn how to outsmart resistance…
One recent morning, I slept in — mainly because I’d had a dreadful sleep the night before. As a result, I was late getting to work. And I felt disgruntled and out of sorts the whole day — which made it difficult for me to write.
Then, I suddenly remembered Steven Pressfield’s phrase, “resistance recruits allies.”
Pressfield is the author of the helpful book The War of Art — a motivational guide that describes how an internal force he calls “resistance” prevents us from pursuing our creative goals. (Pressfield knows his stuff — he’s also the author of several other successful books including The Legend of Bagger Vance.)
In fact, his phrase, “resistance recruits allies,” is the title of one chapter in his book.
Here is Pressfield’s idea: Resistance to writing isn’t passive — it’s strategic. And one of its most powerful tactics is recruiting mental allies that help convince us we have valid reasons for not writing.
Here are some examples of what these mental allies might say:
- I’m too tired to write.
- My partner/kids/business/life needs me more.
- I have too many other responsibilities right now.
- Others are better writers than me — why should I bother?
- I have no ideas or inspiration.
- I’ve never followed through before — why would this time be any different?
- I need to take another class or read another book first.
And here’s the really interesting part. These stories aren’t crazy. They’re powerful because they’re true or close to true. Resistance works by layering emotional truth over creative avoidance. Resistance is smart enough to sound responsible, humble and logical, which is what makes it especially persuasive.
The next time you’re delaying writing, here’s a four-step game plan for how to outsmart resistance:
- Don’t argue with resistance. Instead, just notice it. We often think that presenting logical arguments is essential to getting anything done. But, in fact, our lives are more often run by emotions. Learn to manage your emotions and you’re far more likely to achieve your goals.
- Ask yourself what the resistance is protecting you from. Usually, it will be protecting you from fear, judgment or vulnerability. Rather than having too many responsibilities right now, or being too tired, you’re far more likely to be battling fear of publication. What will your readers say when they read this thoroughly inadequate post you’ve written? But you can solve this problem by divorcing writing from publication. When you write, worry only about writing. Editing and publication are steps you can worry about later.
- Counter resistance with the statement: “All I need to do is write for just five minutes.” Many people tell themselves they need to write for at least an hour to accomplish anything worthwhile. This is not true. Even if you write only 100 words, you are still 100 words ahead of where you’d be if you hadn’t written at all. (And you’ll feel better, too!)
- Remind yourself that writing isn’t a test. It’s a practice. No one else needs to see your writing. And no one can judge you on it until you decide to show it to them. When it’s done, if you feel it’s too bad to share with others, you can throw it away.
It can also help to prepare in advance for resistance. Imagine yourself sitting down to write and picture resistance arriving. Then visualize yourself noticing it and taking steps to deal with it.
Resistance is a normal, recurring part of the writing process. But every time you hear it in your head, ask yourself whose side it’s really on. The resistance will keep coming, but now you’ll recognize the allies it sends.
Every time you write, you weaken their grip.
If you liked this post, you’ll also like my video: How can you deal with resistance?
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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours.
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My video podcast last week addressed the problems with outlining. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel .
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How do you outsmart resistance? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. And congratulations to Sue Dockstader, the winner of this month’s book prize, for a comment on my recent blog about how cellphones steal our words. (Please send me your email address, Sue.) If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by July 31/25, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the related posts links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)
