Resistance is getting to me January 26, 2007
Posted by greenlavender in Acting, Art, Energy, Life, Personal, Random, Spirituality.trackback
Resistance hadn’t really gotten to me in a while. For some reason, today I seem to be loosing the war. I am sitting here staring at my blog, thinking “why do I have to write today?” Well, maybe because you promised yourself you would not bore your readings by not writing for two days!!!
Put aside writing posts for my blog for a second — I am in the middle of a painting, I have started writing a screenplay, I want to redesign my blog (not with themes, although I might just change the header graphic), I want to have my acting head-shots redone, then send my new head-shots out to casting directors, and I could keep going all day. But yet, here I am writing about how resistance is getting to me [kicking myself in the butt]. I feel like I should have a drill sergeant assigned to me. I’ll go pick up my book on “The War of Art” and read a random page.
Natasha - The Artist 
Green,
I have that problem occasionally. The problem is that inspiration is its own mistress, it will not come to you as you always want it. To address this I read as many inspiring essays and stories as I can.
Blogs are personal, sensitive things, they reflect their owner’s state of mind and their creativity. I guess we just have that dreaded writer’s block from time to time, and we just have to wait it out.
Thank you for the encouragement Raymond. 🙂
Sounds like you don’t lack for things to do, just lacking some motivation. You know, it is okay to give yourself permission to do nothing for a day, to sit in your PJ’s and eat Bon Bons (or whatever you would love to munch on, ha).
Sometimes a day of nothing is just what you need to recharge yourself and find the motivation that you seek.
You know what we need to do? Start a support group.
When my show is done that’s what we should do. We’ll meet regularly with whatever we want to work on (script, painting, learning lines, ect.) and sit down together and do it. Or we can simply call each other when resistance hits to get some motivation to keep going. What do you think?
I echo ToBeMe’s post! Sometimes it’s lovely to give ourselves permission just To BE…and, rather than plan out all of our activities for the next 24 hours, allow ourselves to embrace what flows towards us, letting personal “Joy” and “Peace” be our guides. That might look like curling up on the sofa with some popcorn and watching some tearjerking chick flick 😉
To Be Me and Grace, thanks for the encouragement, but I’m a bit hesitant because that’s exactly what I did last Monday. I’m just afraid to get ‘addicted’ to it.
Nancy, that’s a great idea!
Hi Natasha,
First off, I really like your blog. There is calmness and serenity in your entries. It’s definitely one of my favorites. Perhaps I’m biased too, as I see you’re from Ottawa, my hometown. You bring a touch of home to my life here in Taiwan and I’m very thankful for that.
I’m an artist as well, and one thing I’ve noticed over the years is that my creativity in certain areas comes in waves. I don’t try to pressure myself into creating something because there is demand. I write every day on my blog because right now I’m in the right head space for writing. Maybe I won’t be next week and then I might start spending a bit more time on my other areas of interest, such as my music, painting or designing. Who knows?
What’s important is that you take advantage of your creativity when it inspires you. It sounds like you have so many wonderful interests that you are wholly involved in right now. Your readers will still be waiting for you when you are ready to tell us about it!
I wonder how you get inspired constantly, if there is such a thing.
Carrie, thank you very much. I completely agree that creativity comes in waves. When I feel that inspiration is not really in me, I try not to fight it, I just ride the wave. Raymond, I can not get inspired constantly, I would be exhausted.
What happens when I resist is not really that I am not inspired, but rather that I am fighting the inspiration. If I kick myself in the butt when I feel resistance, that’s usually when I am at my best, creatively speaking. I find that the more inspiration I get, the more I resist. Which is what was happening when I wrote this post. I felt in my heart that I could accomplish much, but I was resisting it tremendously.
I mentioned the book “The War of Art” by Stephen Pressfield, he describes many reasons for resistance and how to “resist resistance”. It’s an amazing book for people who experience this.
Hi Natasha,
I am glad I came across your blog, which is great. Like Carrie said, there is a “calmness and serenity in your entries…I was just have a discussion with a friend the other day about how society has put some much pressure on us to constantly be moving but that works against us. We need to take time for ourseleves and recharge. I know many people who learned this the hard way, including myself. I think you’ll find more inspiration when you simply let go, take a step back and just be.
All the best,
Matthew
Thank you Matthew. And thank you to all for the encouragement!
My blog has helped me see that there is so much goodness in this world. Even through the negativity we hear everyday, we can see the goodness, we only have to open our hearts to it.
Natasha,
Well said! Like the old say goes, it’s all in how you choose to look at it. There is a great quote from Mother Thersa, she was asked once what see saw when she walked down the streets of Calcutta. She said, “I see god in all of the faces of the people on the streets.” I didn’t get it exact, but it’s close enough. Here’s another good one,
and I don’t know who said it but it’s so cool.
“If you knew who walked beside you every day, you would never experience doubt again”
Wow!
Be well,
Matthew