Most of us have two lives. The life we live and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”
― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
Are you closer to living the unlived life within? The one that taps into your full potential. Or are you stuck?
I was on a writing retreat recently. After several focused hours of writing, I took a break and watched a cheesy Netflix show. (You’ll think less of me if you heard the title.)
While watching the show I started thinking about an unfinished chapter in my book. It gnawed at me for a few minutes until I hit pause. I retuned to the computer. Ninety minutes later the chapter was done. Netflix waited for me.
In the past, when I encountered Resistance, I would procrastinate and find all sorts of distractions. Some innocent and some not so. All the while, the important work in my life went undone.
“Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet,” writes Steven Pressfield. “It is the root of more unhappiness than poverty, disease, and erectile dysfunction. To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be.”
What is the important work for you? Do you know? What is the unlived life you are called to live?
What are you willing to pause Netflix for?