I’m starting to find out what kind of fun things can happen through blogging!
Some of you may remember that I wrote a post earlier this year about Steven Pressfield’s book The War of Art.
It’s a truly brilliant journey into all aspects of our inner resistance and all the ways that it tries to keep us from the desires that are closest to our heart.
It’s written through Steven’s journey as a writer through all the years that he tried to resist his calling and his art and how he still faces it every day before he sits down to actually write. And it’s incredibly complete and insightful.
Well, a little while after that, I got an email from Steven Pressfield’s publicist. Just that alone, plus the fact that she liked the post, was pretty cool.
And then she offered me the chance to have a written dialogue with Steven himself! But I need your help.
I get to ask Steven Pressfield any three questions I want about the War of Art and resistance and receive his answers in writing and share them with you! Wow!
Then, of course, my very next thought was, “OMG, what three questions will I ask?”
So I’m putting it out to you. Help me figure out what three questions to ask Steven Pressfield about resistance.
You don’t have to even have read the book to come up with a question. I’m sure you’re pretty familiar with the ins and outs of your own resistance. Think of what you’d like to ask someone who has struggled with resistance and triumphed.
And, just to make it juicy, I think I’ll throw in a bonus 1 hour teleclass on resistance for everyone who submits a question.
(and if you can’t make it you’ll get the recording anyway.)
So go ahead. Submit your ideas below. My motto is “there’s no such thing as a stupid question”. All questions open doors. I can’t wait to see your ideas.
(And if you want to stay in the loop when Steven sends back his answers, go ahead and subscribe to receive free updates by email or in a reader.)
{ 10 comments }
Susan I’m honored to submit a question. Exactly how does Steven navigate via resistance? What’s his process for doing so? Also have you written about your own process here? Let me know; I’d love to read that one. I’m so glad we’ve connected.
.-= Tom Volkar / Delightful Work´s last blog ..First Comes … The Courage To Listen =-.
Hey Susan,
Excited to return the visit! What a great post and exciting opportunity, indeed. I like brainstorming for stuff like this, so I’ll be returning with a question (there might be a list b/c I get excited when I brainstorm!), definitely. I just need to sleep on it and ponder that which is resistance, and which little dark corner would be coolest to illuminate!
.-= Shana McGough´s last blog ..It’s the simple things =-.
@Tom – great question and I’d like to know how he navigates that as well! As for my resistance, there’s more to come on that front and for now you can check out this post:
http://www.theheartsvoice.com/blog/resistance/is-being-a-visionary-one-of-your-resistance-strategies/
@Shana – thanks for stopping by. Looking forward to the results of the brainstorm. And YES, lists are very welcome!
Hi Susan –
This is wonderful! What a great opportunity. My question? How do you know when your resistance is distracting you all over the place and when it’s simply a path that needs to be looked into? I’d love to know how Steven discerned between the two.
Hey Susan,
I brainstormed! Here’s what came to me:
How do you talk about resistance to people who might not even be aware of it?
How do you talk about it to people are are well aware and deeply immersed in it?
How aware do you think people are of resistance as a concept and of it being important work for their own happiness?
What was (or is) key for you to break through your own resistance?
Why do we all have/carry resistance?
Why do we continue to even when we *know* about it?
Or, asked inversely, why is it so hard for us to find our peaceful, happy flow and path? Isn’t that what we all want on a deep level?
And, I’m at shana underscore mcgough at yahoo dot com.
Can’t wait to hear the outcome of the dialogue!
Shana
.-= Shana McGough´s last blog ..For Justin (the big firefighter brother) =-.
@Shana – These are some great questions! Thank you. I’m especially curious too about Steven’s perception of whether people are aware of resistance as a concept and also his thoughts on “Why”.
@Laura – That’s an interesting idea about resistance as a path to look into. Can you say more about what you mean in terms of a “path”?
Hi Susan…
This might be similar to @Laura’s question, but here it is: “How do you tell the difference between resistance and your intuition telling you that something’s not aligned with your highest good?”
This is a major question I grapple with…
Hi Susan,
I love Sarah’s questions. Another question I’m curious about is does some resistance simply need time to move through? Or can all resistance (and related stuckness) be transformed into openness/flow in the moment if we meet it in the “right” way?
warmly,
Jen
jen (at) jengreer (dot) com
ps I also did a call on resistance and would be happy to send to you/discuss if you have any interest.
@Sarah – Thank you for this. I think I understand Laura’s question better now, having read yours. And I grapple with that one sometimes too. I’ll share my teacher’s response in a future blog post.
@Jen – very interesting question! That’s really got me pondering. I’d love to hear Steven’s response to that.
Wow – thank you to all of you for these great questions. Keep them coming! I think I may have to email Steven’s publicist and request a 10 question dialogue! = >
Hi Susan,
Here are a few things I’m curious about when it comes to resistance?
- Is there any relationship between resistance and the various theories of the cycle of change (ie. are there any phases where you’re more likely to struggle with resistance).
- tips for perfectionists on how to overcome resistance
- tips for approval-sluts (people who are devastated if anyone disagrees with/ criticizes them) on how to deal with their fears so their fears don’t hold them back.
- what’s the relationship between resistance and doing what you love? Some people say you get more resistance when you’re doing what you love/ care about, while other people say that resistance is a sig that you’re not doing what you love and you’re making yourself do something your Essential Self doesn’t want to do.