The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles

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Summary

This book objectifies the "Resistance", the feeling that prevents you from getting started on whatever it is you need to do. Focused on writing and creative works, these lessons are short and insightful and apply to any kind of work that needs to get done. This is a book I leave out and read a few chapters of whenever I need to kickstart some creative work.

Notes and Quotes

The Resistance is the force preventing you from doing whatever you need to do.

The Resistance can act as a compass of what to do. The more Resistance you encounter trying to do something, the more important it is for you to do that thing.

Resistance feels like unhappiness. Eventually depression. You must create to feel great.

Resistance Is fear. The more scared we are, the more important it is for us to do it.

Massive love is behind massive Resistance. If you weren’t resisting, you’d be feeling indifferent

Resistance loved “healing”. Yes you need to work on your inner self. But that is separate from your creative work. The more energy we expend dredging and re-judging the tired, boring injustices of our personal lives the less juice we have to do our work.

Life always gets in the way of work. Resistance likes to rationalize that is ok. its not - there will always be something new that gets in the way!

The Resistance is hard And feels like we can’t do it. But it’s just like childbirth you don’t know you can do it until you do it. Just remind yourself that people have been able to avoid the Resistance for centuries.

Pros stick to a schedule. They don’t wait for inspiration to strike. They develop a pattern of inspiration striking everyday at 8pm sharp.

The ego wants self interested preservation. It is afraid of what will happen when you achieve what you want. You will lose friends. But the self is interested in art. True you will lose some friends, but you will gain even better new ones. You will feel accomplished and will figure out your new routine. The ego wants stability and not to change. Your artistic self wants you to grow and become the person you are meant to be.