War of Art (summer reading group) Meeting #1

Following on from the theme of creativity in the March meeting, I will run a summer reading group (2 meetings, one in June and the second in July) on Thursday evenings from 7-8:30pm to go over Steven Pressfield's excellent book The War of Art. I have run a reading group on this book a few times of the past few years, and find it a rewarding topic and book to return to. It is an easy and short read. Below I detail the central themes/issues in Part 1 of the book, which will be our focus in this first meeting. You can watch an interview with Pressfield here.

Please be sure to bring a lawn chair, and head towards the sheltered area with the bathrooms, we will be sitting behind that structure under a tree.

First point- why read this book? I think anyone facing obstacles in their personal lives – be it with writing, or switching careers, or ending an unhealthy marriage, or moving to a new city, or entering retirement, or re-entering dating, etc.- will stand to benefit from reading this book. The dominant theme in Part 1 of the book is that the thing that prevents us from accomplishing what we want to accomplish in life is Resistance. As Pressfield puts in: “Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance”. Resistance is the enemy! And the book aspires to help us identify, and ultimately, conquer Resistance in our personal lives.

Resistance can arise when aspiring to pursue your calling (e.g. painting, writing), launching a new business, pursuing your spiritual advancement, romantic relationships and parenthood, education, getting fit, overcoming an unhealthy habit or undertaking an action that requires ethical or political courage.

Resistance is invisible. So it is a sly enemy! But we feel it, it emits an energy. It tries to prevent us from doing our work. Resistance arises from within. “It is self-generated and self-perpetuated”.
Resistance is insidious, implacable, impersonal, infallible, universal, it never sleeps, it plays for keeps, it is fuelled by fear, etc.

When the finish line is in sight, that is when Resistance is most dangerous (see, I said it was sly!). As we get closer to our aspirations resistance hits “the panic button!”, a counterattack to thwart us from achieving what we really want in life. Perhaps you bail on resigning from your current, unhappy, job after you finally get that dream job offer. Or you finally meet a great person for dating but get cold feet and call it off before risking getting your heart broken.

We must be aware of the symptoms of Resistance, such as victimhood (a strategy that doesn’t require honest work or any contribution), and choice of a partner (someone whose coattails we can ride on or whose adoration we use to prevent them from overcoming their own Resistance).

What does Resistance feel like? Bored. Restless. Guilt. Unsatisfied. It can become critical and lead to depression.

Resistance and Fundamentalism: Pressfield argues we didn’t evolve to life as individuals, rather we are wired tribally- to act as part of a group. We don’t know how to be alone, how to act as free individuals.

A contrast is made between the artist and the fundamentalist. The artist is creative and positive, the fundamentalist is destructive and negative. The latter is a philosophy of powerlessness.

When it comes to fear, Pressfield notes that fear is actually a good thing! “The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it” (40).

Healing- Pressfield argues a fixation on healing can be a form of Resistance. Telling yourself you need to heal completely before undertaking the work to achieve what you want. “Resistance knows that the more psychic energy we expend dredging and re-dredging the tired, boring injustices of our personal lives, the less juice we have to do our work” (50).

Rationalizations is Resistant’s right-hand man (57), the spin doctor. My favourite quote from Part 1:

“If Resistance couldn’t be beaten, there would be no Fifth Symphony, no Romeo and Juliet, no Golden Gate Bridge. Defeating Resistance is like giving birth. It seems absolutely impossible until you remember that women have been pulling it off successfully, with support and without, for fifty million years” (57)

Hope to see some of you there.

Cheers,
Colin