Resilience Over Resistance
A few years ago I received the book The War of Art. The author Steven Pressfield, was discussing what steps are necessary to get through the blocks that keep us from our creative side. My friend Ken Williams sent me this book to inspire me to sit down and get started on writing my own book. It was an outstanding read right from the start and the further I got into it I realized this book was just as applicable to life and leadership. A significant theme of the book is about overcoming resistance and identifying all of the resistance that we create in our own lives.
I wish I would have found this book in 2002 when it was first published, it made so much sense to me and had me reflecting on all of the resistance in my life. Pressfield, talks often about being resilient to the resistance and that is a trait that leaders and people so deeply need to address in their personal and professional lives. As I was reading the book I started to make a list of all of the ways I created my own resistance in life.
Excuses/rationalizing
The judgement of others
Fear of Failure
Procrastinating
Discomfort
Self Doubt/imposter syndrome
All of these things were mentioned in some form or another in the book and I could think of several specific examples in my own life. I made excuses for not working out or for eating unhealthy foods. I was overly concerned with what people would think about the decisions I was making as a leader and if they were the right decisions or not. Fear of not being successful was a serious concern, because I hated feeling and looking like a loser. This was really an indicator that I wasn’t seeing failure as feedback as I have discussed earlier in this book. There was the bad habit of putting off the things I wasn’t good at until the last minute, possibly because they weren’t easy for me, and that had become a real problem as a new school administrator. I struggled with imposter syndrome terribly, because I really didn’t feel like I deserved or had the ability to run an entire school building. This was ridiculous. I had done all of the academic work and had almost 20 years of experience in schools. All of these things were resistance and I was seriously lacking in an effort to overcome it. I had the ability to be resilient. I just had to recognize my issues and take the appropriate action.
Call To Action
We all experience resistance in our lives from time to time even the most positive and confident people in the world will wrestle with self doubt it is a natural part of being human. My challenge for you is to quietly sit down and take stock of what resistance exists in your life and then take action. You will probably find that you are experiencing more resistance than you think. Don't be overwhelmed, just start with one thing and slowly build the resilience you need to be the best leader and person you can be.
