I knew that word – resistance – would get your attention, because resistance is all we care about lately… Call your senators, email Diane Feinstein, text “count me” to 89800, show up at the airport and protest the immigration ban…write postcards for the Ides of March.I’m all for resistance of that sort. (Some of you may be frantically looking for the Unsubscribe button, right about now, and that’s okay. I am who I am and if that’s not for you, that’s fine.)
But I was thinking more about the resistance we all feel when we try to do something new, difficult or real. The battleground in our minds as we approach writing, or finishing or promoting our work. Where does that roar of resistance come from? What makes us think “I can’t do it?”
I was in search of that answer for over a decade, as I plied my trade – brainstorming and developing promotional and marketing concepts for big name clients – and wondered why I wasn’t also writing the Great American Novel, as I thought I would. I could show up and spout hundreds of ideas – many of them stupid and ridiculous ideas. I was unapologetic, unself-conscious. On a moment’s notice, I could come up with 100 ideas for how to sell diapers or windows or cereal or even financial services and expense tracking systems. I even had a mausoleum for a client, and I had ideas for how to market their crypts. And apparently I was prolific and original enough to make a good living for over 20 years. But, I was still feeling resistance – BIG TIME – when I tried to do my own work, what I would consider my calling.
This inability to do – or even seriously try – what I thought I wanted to do was confusing, frustrating, sometimes even torturous. It led me down the path of seeking knowledge about creativity and my creative process. I had my first book coming out – Motherhood to Otherhood (Running Press, 2008) – and I felt like a total fraud. I was zero help in marketing my own book. I could not get out of my own way. I was frozen, even though marketing and marketing ideas should totaling have been my strong suit.
I was stumped. And sad. And betrayed.
I first sought help from Dr. Martha Beck. I got a lot of coaching, as I trained for my coaching certificate. What I began to see were my limiting beliefs, holding me frozen in my tracks. And then I trained further with Dr. Eric Maisel, the father of creativity coaching, and he shined a light on something I didn’t dare think I could do – help creative people create with less stress. (Including me.) And as I studied and worked with my clients, I was getting lighter and more able, too. My book actually performed pretty well, and I was able to make some tv appearances and about 40 radio interviews. I was back in my own corner. The last piece of the puzzle though was still missing for me.
I like coaching and the “woo” of it, but I want to understand the “why” of it, too. Why does resistance rear up? And when?
I applied to Buffalo State College in the International Center for Studies in Creativity, and I got my Masters in the Science of Creativity. (Yes, there is such a thing.)
We each feel resistance to different parts of the creative process. And we each hide from the pain, or the mere possibility of pain in different ways. (I sometimes still “Oreo,” when I should write.)
Finally. Finally. I developed Write, Without the Fight. This program is designed to help you pinpoint when you’re going to be seized by resistance, and what you can do about it.
I’m launching this program for the first time this month. You have the opportunity to…
- See your blindspot
- Neutralize your Kryptonite
- Test your superpowers
- Bring your creativity into the world in its fullest measure
- You have recourse, when you inexplicably stop writing or never find the time to write
Does that sound good? Wouldn’t that be a good thing to have in your tool belt? Something to defang your next bout of doubt? Something to get you back in the swing of things when you’ve walked away?
People say it’s just a matter of discipline – but, when that doesn’t work? When you’re inner Boss is yelling and demanding and scolding and trying to get you back to your computer and you just aren’t complying? Are you telling me thousands of writers can’t come up with even one other idea of how to overcome resistance? Is the only answer, ever, going to be DISCIPLINE?
Through the miracle of research and experimentation, scientists have cracked that code. We have developed and tested lots of tools that help writers (and others) re-circuit their thoughts, rewire their brains, and trick their resistance. We can get you writing, finishing, and promoting your best work using new techniques – whenever you need them most.
If you’d like to find the resistance in your creative process and write, without the fight, go here and sign up for a free webinar.
I’m really excited by this. I hope to see you there. Our voices need to rise above the resistance in our minds, and join the chorus of resistance in our current political world. Whether you’re an essayist, novelist, memoirist or screenwriter, your voice needs to be heard.