A few years ago, I read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. It changed my life as an entrepreneur.
There were many exciting, meaningful days that made me happy and satisfied.
There were also lots of days that still felt like a slog. After a decade of being in business, I wondered what I was doing wrong.
Pressfield set me straight. Nothing was wrong with me. It was Resistance with a big R, also commonly known as “fear, self-doubt, procrastination, addiction, distraction, timidity, ego and narcissism, self-loathing, perfectionism, etc. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work.”
Why? Because it doesn’t want us to do better, experience success, or evolve. “The more important a call or action is our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.”
This past year's crisis has been quite a dose of Resistance.
It’s thrown us all off. The big choice now is will you get back up, regroup, and go forward? Knowing that you want life to be easier than it really is?
The truth is that building a business and creating a meaningful life doesn’t get easier. You just get BETTER at it!
You’re better because once you squarely face an uncomfortable situation in your business or life, then you can flip it to an advantage. Turn it into an important lesson learned for the future. Reframe it into an insight for growth. Let go of what’s no longer working for you. And make get stronger.
Staying strong during the last year hasn’t been easy for me.
What I never anticipated is how much a metal frame with wheels would become my "cycologist". When I got outside and rode the trail, I temporarily left behind my home office, my bedroom, my kitchen, and everything else.
I went from huffing and puffing to do 10 miles on my bike to now training for a 100-mile century ride. The biggest surprise is how my inner teenager showed up! I was simply having fun – and at times felt goofy like a 16-year-old.
And, still, there are days when Resistance whispers that I don’t have time, that I’m too tired, or that I can’t do 100 miles in a day. So irritating!
Now I know that’s not true. What is true is that I’m much better. Better fit. Better skilled. Better at responding to such nonsense.
I get on my bike and start pedaling. You can, too.
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