Excuses and Resistance

Path to Creation

Have you created anything today? What have you done that furthers your art, your calling? If the answer is “nothing”, why?

Excuses. That’s why. They’re something we all make at some time or other. How many have you made today? When we make excuses we are ultimately cheating ourselves, our loved ones and others around us. This may apply even more to those of us who like to think of ourselves as creatives or artists or whatever. We have a duty, a responsibility to create. It’s ingrained in us, it’s who we are. When we are not creating, we are not fully alive.

Steven Pressfield, in his excellent book “The War of Art” calls it Resistance. He says

Have you ever brought home a treadmill and let it gather dust in the attic? Ever resolved on a diet, a course of yoga, a meditation practice? Have you ever felt a call to embark upon a spiritual practice, dedicate yourself to a humanitarian calling, commit your life to the service of others? Have you ever wanted to be a mother, a doctor, an advocate for the weak and helpless; to run for office, crusade for the planet, campaign for world peace or to preserve the environment? Late at night have you experienced a vision of the person you might become, the work you could accomplish, the realized being you were meant to be? Are you a writer who doesn’t write, a painter who doesn’t paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what Resistance is.

So how do we overcome it? As I see it, the answer is quite simple. Pick up your camera, pen or guitar; lace up your running shoes; go down to the homeless shelter; whatever it is you need to do for yourself and just do it. Start.

Now.

Today.

Finding excuses for not doing things is easy. It’s raining, got to be in the office, sore knee, no time. And then there’s the biggest copout of them all.

I’ll do it tomorrow.

No you won’t. If you won’t do it now, you won’t do it tomorrow. Or the next day. Chances are you won’t do it at all. You’ll continue to find excuses, continue to let resistance beat you down, continue to live a life unfulfilled. Photos will go untaken, songs unwritten, miles unrun.

I think I can still hear you making excuses. Part of your mind is thinking of creating, but I bet a greater part is thinking of reasons why you can’t. Well, use that. Take the energy you’re using to create excuses, the inertia and the resistance and harness it. Use it as a creative aid.

All you need to do is start.

All you need to do is begin.

So what are you waiting for?

This entry was posted on Monday, September 21st, 2009 at 06:00. It is filed under Musings and tagged with creativity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.