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About The War of Art Book
What keeps so many of us from doing what we long to do? Why is there a naysayer within? How can we avoid the roadblocks of any creative endeavor—be it starting up a dream business venture, writing a novel, or painting a masterpiece?
The War of Art identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success.
The War of Art emphasizes the resolve needed to recognize and overcome the obstacles of ambition and then effectively shows how to reach the highest level of creative discipline.
Think of it as tough love . . . for yourself.
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4.5/5 (1047 reviews)
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This book was recommended to me and it did not disappoint. These were the key insights. Identify and follow your dreams!
Finding what we are really good at is only half the battle, the hardest part is putting forth the effort and motivation to actually work towards it
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Everyone struggles with Resistance. Resistance is the little voice that tells us to procrastinate, avoid, and do anything but work on our passion
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Resistance manifests itself in the form of fear of failure, procrastination, and self-doubt
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The War of Art
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Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art” reveals how to conquer internal resistance, embrace discipline, and unlock your creative potential for extraordinary achievements.
Resistance is the internal force that prevents us from pursuing our creative dreams and goals. It manifests as procrastination, self-doubt, fear, and distractions. Recognizing resistance is the first step to overcoming it and achieving our true potential.
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Pressfield differentiates between amateurs and professionals. Professionals show up every day, regardless of motivation or inspiration. They are disciplined, committed, and treat their creative work as a serious, daily practice. This mindset helps overcome resistance.
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Establishing consistent habits is crucial in combating resistance. By creating a routine and sticking to it, we can build momentum and make progress even on days when we don’t feel like it. Small, regular efforts accumulate into significant achievements over time.
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10 transforming ideas from The War of Art by Steven Pressfield to change your creative life.
Our biggest obstacle to creativity isn’t external but an internal force called esistance.
Resistance is persistent and thrives on our fears and self-doubt.
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The projects and goals that scare you the most are likely the ones worth pursuing.
Fear signals importance—lean into it rather than avoiding it.
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Resistance disguises as procrastination, perfectionism, or logical excuses like “I don’t have time” or “I’m not ready.”
Recognising its disguise is the first step to overcoming it.
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You never say "I'm not going to write my book", instead you say "I'm going to write my book, but I'll start from tomorrow". Well it's 'Resistance' which is forcing you to procrastinate. It is this resistance which distracts you to do something less important.
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Steven Pressfield says that there is a negative force, 'Resistance', surrounding you, which prevents you from doing your work.
The more important the work the more is the resistance. Similarly, the less important the task, the less resistance you feel. It is this resistance which diverts your mind to less important task surrounding you, which gives you instant gratification and satisfaction.
You know that preparing for the upcoming exam is the most important task to complete. But resistance will force you to find satisfaction in watching a Youtube video, or say read a blog.
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The only way to fight resistance and overcome procrastinating is to sit down and start doing the most important task. And eventually, you will become a 'professional'. Even if you have zero progress, you just need to sit down and think of doing the task. You need to think like a professional and avoid the 'amateur' inside you.
If you feel more resistance while performing any task, remember, it's the most important thing for you to do.
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We tend to get stuck in our creative process no matter what our line of work/hobby/interest is. And we often at times think that we are the only ones that find ourselves in this stuck position. But reading a great author like Steve Pressfields book and getting to know in his own words that he once also found himself stuck as well as how he overcame it can be very useful.
This book can be helpful with inspiring on how to overcome struggles with creativity!
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