the war of art, steven pressfield

Seyfeddin is one of the software craftsman i like to follow. when i saw this tweet from him i wanted to give it a chance.

previously, i read a lot books that is suggested by him and i have never regret it. this was no different too. in this post, i wanted to share the highlights i take during my reading.

How many of us have become drunks and drug addicts, developed tumors and neuroses, succumbed to painkillers, gossip, and compulsive cell-phone use, simply because we don’t do that thing that our hearts, our inner genius, is calling us to? Resistance defeats us.

this resonated with me a lot. i’m currently the heaviest version of myself. this even cost me the Weissmies summit and prevented me from trying two more. when i think more about it, i found myself digging my head into food whenever i felt a resistance.

The enemy is a very good teacher.—the Dalai Lama

In other words, any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity. Or, expressed another way, any act that derives from our higher nature instead of our lower. Any of these will elicit Resistance.

We’re wrong if we think we’re the only ones struggling with Resistance. Everyone who has a body experiences Resistance.

Resistance knows we’re about to beat it. It hits the panic button. It marshals one last assault and slams us with everything it’s got. The professional must be alert for this counterattack. Be wary at the end. Don’t open that bag of wind.

it was a fun coincidence that i read this book shortly after watching Nolan’s Odyssey. there are bunch of reference in this book to the original masterpiece.

The best and only thing that one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.  

When we drug ourselves to blot out our soul’s call, we are being good Americans and exemplary consumers. We’re doing exactly what TV commercials and pop materialist culture have been brainwashing us to do from birth. Instead of applying self-knowledge, self-discipline, delayed gratification and hard work, we simply consume a product. 

the product here could be anything that distracts you from applying those goodies to your life. do not limit yourself to thinking it as just something you buy.

Casting yourself as a victim is the antithesis of doing your work. Don’t do it. If you’re doing it, stop.

What finally convinced me to go ahead was simply that I was so unhappy not going ahead. I was developing symptoms. As soon as I sat down and began, I was okay.

i experienced this a lot too. when i reach to the bottom of boredom, i feel like my access to some inner energy unlocks and i can start doing things i avoid doing. 🙃

The paradox seems to be, as Socrates demonstrated long ago, that the truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery. While those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern over them.

If you find yourself criticizing other people, you’re probably doing it out of Resistance. When we see others beginning to live their authentic selves, it drives us crazy if we have not lived out our own. 

i’m guilt of this sin a lot. i have raised in an house where the critics and comparison with others was the norm. i took that with me up until this age and frequently i found myself criticizing myself the harshest. i‘m trying to change that but i have never noticed that could be the part of the resistance thats a new information for me.

Individuals who are realized in their own lives almost never criticize others. If they speak at all, it is to offer encouragement. Watch yourself. Of all the manifestations of Resistance, most only harm ourselves. Criticism and cruelty harm others as well.

Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it. 

The professional tackles the project that will make him stretch. He takes on the assignment that will bear him into uncharted waters, compel him to explore unconscious parts of himself. 

So if you’re paralyzed with fear, it’s a good sign. It shows you what you have to do.

Seeking support from friends and family is like having your people gathered around at your deathbed. It’s nice, but when the ship sails, all they can do is stand on the dock waving goodbye. 

i have a mixed feelings about this one. i think having a support circle is valuable. although, i witnessed some times all we do is talk.

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.

It is one thing to study warand another to live the warrior’s life. —Telamon of Arcadia,mercenary of the fifth century B.C.

The word amateur comes from the Latin root meaning “to love.” The conventional interpretation is that the amateur pursues his calling out of love, while the pro does it for money. Not the way I see it. In my view, the amateur does not love the game enough. If he did, he would not pursue it as a sideline, distinct from his “real” vocation. 

The professional loves it so much he dedicates his life to it. He commits full-time. That’s what I mean when I say turning pro.  Resistance hates it when we turn pro.

these two were one of the biggest twists i came across within the book. its provocative.

We do not overidentify with our jobs. We may take pride in our work, we may stay late and come in on weekends, but we recognize that we are not our job descriptions. The amateur, on the other hand, overidentifies with his avocation, his artistic aspiration. He defines himself by it. He is a musician, a painter, a playwright. Resistance loves this. Resistance knows that the amateur composer will never write his symphony because he is overly invested in its success and overterrified of its failure. The amateur takes it so seriously it paralyzes him. 

thats another valuable thing to think about. in this age and time, one of the first things we ask to people we have met is what do you do. even this simple act shows how closely we relate people with their jobs. i’m not defending the act just supporting to argument with an observation.

Nothing is as empowering as real-world validation, even if it’s for failure.

My friend Tony Keppelman snapped me out of it by asking if I was gonna quit. Hell, no! “Then be happy. You’re where you wanted to be, aren’t you? So you’re taking a few blows. That’s the price for being in the arena and not on the sidelines. Stop complaining and be grateful.”

Resistance gets us to plunge into a project with an overambitious and unrealistic timetable for its completion. It knows we can’t sustain that level of intensity. We will hit the wall. We will crash. 

that’s even more true if you are an impatient personality like me.

The professional arms himself with patience, not only to give the stars time to align in his career, but to keep himself from flaming out in each individual work. He knows that any job, whether it’s a novel or a kitchen remodel, takes twice as long as he thinks and costs twice as much. He accepts that. He recognizes it as reality.

A pro views her work as craft, not art. Not because she believes art is devoid of a mystical dimension. On the contrary. She understands that all creative endeavor is holy, but she doesn’t dwell on it. She knows if she thinks about that too much, it will paralyze her. So she concentrates on technique. The professional masters how, and leaves what and why to the gods. Like Somerset Maugham she doesn’t wait for inspiration, she acts in the anticipation of its apparition. The professional is acutely aware of the intangibles that go into inspiration. Out of respect for them, she lets them work. She grants them their sphere while she concentrates on hers.

The professional shuts up. She doesn’t talk about it. She does her work.

The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist

that something i struggle to remember. time to time, i jump to the water by this knowledge but all of a sudden i found myself forgot this piece of advice and try too hard to be ready for something i can never be.

The professional knows that Resistance is like a telemarketer; if you so much as say hello, you’re finished. The pro doesn’t even pick up the phone. He stays at work.

The professional dedicates himself to mastering technique not because he believes technique is a substitute for inspiration but because he wants to be in possession of the full arsenal of skills when inspiration does come. The professional is sly. He knows that by toiling beside the front door of technique, he leaves room for genius to enter by the back.

Evolution has programmed us to feel rejection in our guts. This is how the tribe enforced obedience, by wielding the threat of expulsion. Fear of rejection isn’t just psychological; it’s biological. It’s in our cells.

The professional cannot take rejection personally because to do so reinforces Resistance. Editors are not the enemy; critics are not the enemy. Resistance is the enemy. The battle is inside our own heads. We cannot let external criticism, even if it’s true, fortify our internal foe. That foe is strong enough already.

She gets an agent, she gets a lawyer, she gets an accountant. She knows she can only be a professional at one thing. She brings in other pros and treats them with respect.

i witness people not following this advice in the name of being frugal. when everything is on the track it might seem like working although you should account the worst case scenario too.

Why have I stressed professionalism so heavily in the preceding chapters? Because the most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.

The artist and the mother are vehicles, not originators. They don’t create the new life, they only bear it.

How can we tell if our orientation is territorial or hierarchical? One way is to ask ourselves, If I were feeling really anxious, what would I do? If we would pick up the phone and call six friends, one after the other, with the aim of hearing their voices and reassuring ourselves that they still love us, we’re operating hierarchically. We’re seeking the good opinion of others. What would Arnold Schwarzenegger do on a freaky day? He wouldn’t phone his buddies; he’d head for the gym. He wouldn’t care if the place was empty, if he didn’t say a word to a soul. He knows that working out, all by itself, is enough to bring him back to his center.

We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause

thats something i defend too. but as with all the other advices, thats easier said than done.

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.