Defeating Internal Resistance | Ep. 18
[00:00:43] Hello and welcome. I'm your host Brandon Ward. Excited to dig into today's show. So we wrapped our five part series on self esteem last week. This week, we're going to be covering internal resistance. I concept that Steven Pressfield helped. Clarify. And identify. And it's something that we all experience. If we're seeking to create, build and produce in the world, things that mean something to us.
[00:01:16] So the framework with which he speaks from and thinks about this as is basically the definition of resistance, what resistance is, and then what he calls. Turning pro. So we're going to talk about those two pieces. We're going to dive into the components of resistance, how it sneaks into our life and all these various ways. And then look at.
[00:01:37] What does it mean to be a pro regarding our creation, our expression, and how can we. Truly become the best version of ourselves. All right. So digging in. Resistance is something that we all experience from within ourselves. And it's something that prevents us from living in, in achieving our ultimate lives. It's the force that is trying to inhibit our expression, our growth, our authenticity.
[00:02:06] Resistance is something that we all experience share feel and have. The greater, more powerful, the vision, the more desire that we have to create something in the world, the more powerful the resistance is going to be. And resistance can truly be. Anything. That effectively can delay and distract us from doing our important, meaningful work, meaningful to us, right? This isn't from a context of the planet or anything of that nature it's meaningful to us. And so we define what that is. Now. Our work may have an impact in the world. We may be inspired to impact the world and help others.
[00:02:48] But it's driven by our own meaning. Of what matters. So this could literally be school health programs. Counts. There's so many things and he literally lists out here a few like 10 different things, 11 different things. It could be. Whatever it is. That we're going to be pursuing. If it's a new diet, if it's a new change, if it's a new exercise program, if it's a business that we're building, if it's content that we're creating, if it's a new educational pursuit, if it's a moral or ethical calls,
[00:03:22] Creative work. All of these things can elicit resistance. They can create resistance. And ultimately. Resistance is going to persist. When we're trying to do something and he goes on to say, in other words, Any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity or express in another way.
[00:03:48] Any act that derives from our higher nature instead of our lower, any of these will elicit resistance. So if you're striving to be better and do more in the world, you're going to experience resistance. So now we're going to get into the definition. Of resistance. And what that is. First resistance as invisible it's within us.
[00:04:10] It's something that can be felt. It's something we experience, it's an energy, it's something that's around us. It's pulling us away from what we want to do. It's distracting us from the thing that matters. But it is not seen. It is felt it is around us. It is an energy. It is a movement. But it's there. It's internal.
[00:04:31] So it can seem to come from outside sources outside sources can push on this. Can. Collaborate if you will or collude if you will, but it's not external. It is within us. We use external things as a means to validate our internal resistance. So the external can be impetus to push on this resistance from within.
[00:04:53] So there's all kinds of things outside of ourselves that can distract us or. Empower resistance, but it's our duty to stop that, to quell that resistance to push back. Against this resistance and not allow the things outside of us to distract us.
[00:05:10] It's insidious. It will do whatever it takes to stop us from doing this work lie. Seduce fabricate mislead. Misdirect, it will do all the things possible, no matter what it is inside of us to get us to not do that work, the work that matters to us. And it's almost always full of it. It's that voice within us. That's telling us we're not good enough that we don't have the skills that we don't have. The ability that we can't do this. Who are we to do that? Who were, who am I to think that I have anything to share with the world? How dare? I think that.
[00:05:50] That is resistance. That little small voice that's seeking to hold us back.
[00:05:55] He goes on to say that it's like the alien or the Terminator or the shark in jaws. You it's unreasonable and it's, now these can be felt they can be seen. But it only understands power. It only understands.
[00:06:12] Suppression of what we want to create. That's the only thing and understands. It's not, you can't ration with it. You can't reason with it. But it will not leave us. It will stay with us. And that's its nature. Its resistance nature is to limit us and stop us from sharing what lives within us. That's the uphill battle. That's the.
[00:06:33] The testing measure of whether we will persist or not. That's why resistance exists. It's because if it didn't. What would we have to overcome? What would we have to press forward through? How would we learn? How would we grow? This is what defines us between those who act in those who do not. Resistance is impersonal.
[00:06:55] It doesn't care. What it gets out of you personally, it just wants to stop you. That's all that matters. It's just trying to stop you from creating and sharing the thing that lives within you. So it's not something that is unique to one person or the other it's within each of us. It doesn't care. It just wants to stop us from living.
[00:07:13] It's infallible. It will continue to persist regardless. It's effectively the true north of stopping us from what we're in the world to do. And he goes on to say a rule of thumb. The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution. The more resistance we will feel toward pursuing it. It's a key aspect there and it will not stop.
[00:07:36] I've succumbed to resistance for much of my life. I've made a decision to no longer do that. And it's been a huge change. Because it can change your life when you die, when you understand what it is and you push through it. It's a universal concept as well.
[00:07:52] It's something that we all experienced. It's something that lives within each of us. It's something that we all must overcome. If we are serious about expressing and sharing what lives within us. It never sleeps. It never sleeps, no matter how successful or powerful or masterful you may become over your craft, it will continue to persist. So it will be with us till our dying days until we are done on this planet. I can't say what happens after this planet, because I don't know, but.
[00:08:23] If we're still conscious and there's creation involved, and I'm sure that resistance is still involved because ultimately that's the thing that's going to be pushing us and defining the difference between those that create and those that do not.
[00:08:34] It aims. To destroy us. So it plays for keeps. It's not here to slow us down or to disable us a bit. It wants to destroy us and our genius, our expression, all of the things that live within us, its aim is to destroy us at the end of the day. It is fueled by fear.
[00:08:56] It doesn't live on its own, but it's fueled by fear and they work hand in hand. Fear is constantly being peddled in our world. Perpetuated. Day by day, minute by minute, throughout all, all around us in these media channels.
[00:09:10] So that fear and resistance are working together. It's our hour task to overcome them, but we first do that by understanding.
[00:09:18] It only resistance only opposes in one direction. So again, the more we push forward, the higher our pursuits are the higher our desires to express and share. The more we will get pushed back. It only knows to go against what we're trying to create. That's the only direction it knows. It goes against whatever it may be, that we are seeking to create an express in the world.
[00:09:42] It's the most powerful at the finish line. Because we've think we've made it there. We're looking at the finish line. We may drop our guard and things get most intense at the end. And then we revert back to where we started or we lose so much progress. So we have to be mindful that when we are closest to the finish, when we are closest to our breakthrough, resistance will be its strongest because it knows we're about to defeat it.
[00:10:08] At least momentarily, we have moments of defeating resistance by acting in spite of what we feel.
[00:10:13] That's because in that moment, when we're close to the finish line, it knows that it has to do what's desperate, what's necessary, and that's often desperate.
[00:10:23] Resistance recruits allies that could be friends that could be family members that could be coworkers that could be society. But they absolutely resistance, absolutely recruits allies to stop us on our mission. Trying to sabotage that work that we are in the world to do. Now. Most people don't realize that they're doing that, they're just doing what they think is best. They're trying to protect you. They're looking out for your best interest. They're trying to help you.
[00:10:50] But really.
[00:10:51] Unconsciously most of the time. They're preventing you from changing and doing the thing that you're choosing to do the courage to stand out from the crowd and express yourself. So people when. They see that in others will sometimes be like crabs in a bucket. And if you've never heard that analogy, if you put a bucket of crabs,
[00:11:11] If you put crabs in a bucket of water. As those that try and crawl out, others will pull them down as if to say you can't do that. So we're going to stop you because who are you to rise higher? It's a very powerful concept that affects us as humans. Very deeply as well.
[00:11:26] So procrastination and resistance go hand in hand. There's a million things that we can come up with, excuse wise, on when we're going to start and why we'll start tomorrow. So it's not that I'll do it. A year from now, but it's always saying I'll do it later. I'll do it later. That's a very attractive ploy and story that we tell ourselves that we'll do it later. We only have now. And if we continue to do that, we won't act.
[00:11:53] So resistance and procrastination go hand in hand. Sex is another way. Too.
[00:11:59] Distract ourselves. To limit our expression. So if it's unless sex and he goes on to sit talking about sex, because sex is beautiful when done with a loving partner. If it's done with expression, with connection, with this beauty, with this depth to it. Where you're vibing and flowing with one another. But if it's used as a distraction as a way to fill up an emptiness, to distract our minds away from the discomfort that we're feeling by not expressing.
[00:12:28] Our truth. Then it's just another form of resistance. And it can be, and this is true for foods, partying, drugs, all of those things, candy, all of that can be a form of resistance and a way to placate ourselves. Into not taking action. That's what we have to look out for. It's interesting too. Cause he's talk talks about trouble and resistance looks for trouble so that it can stop us from doing the work, whatever that may be. It could be our silly. Bad habits. That get us into trouble because we're not being mindful of how we're managing our time or our finances, but ultimately it's the trouble that allows us to not create, to share. So again, this is another component of that allies aspect, but trouble and resistance go hand in hand. The more trouble that we create in our lives, the more difficult it is to express and share.
[00:13:21] And our lives. This goes on the same thing with self dramatization. We can dramatize many things of our lives, people around us. We can get caught up in the drama of all of these things, which enables us to not create, which allows resistance to win out. So resistance is always looking for these. Means to distract us to take us away from this.
[00:13:43] Powerful work that we need to do. And it's on us to recognize that. And one of those key ways is through dramatization and we do that by putting ourselves in situations, choosing partners that may be not, are the best balance for us choosing. Unhealthy work situations. There's a lot of ways that we can go about doing this.
[00:14:03] That can stop our creation. Self-medication is another means to do that, right? If we're medicating ourselves numbing what we are. Dumbing things down, creating disorders. There's a lot of things that now, again, When we have challenges and we're looking at disorders that we may be experiencing or handicaps or whatever it may be.
[00:14:27] Limitations in our expression.
[00:14:28] It's one thing to recognize them and still act, but it's another to use them as a means to not act. And that's what this is about is a lot of times we can self-medicate and turn ourselves. Turn that desire to create down at numbs and doles our desire. It's a way that we can, I've done this for years. I did this for years with alcohol.
[00:14:51] And cannabis for a long time. Now I still consume alcohol in a very balanced way. I still consume count cannabis in a very balanced way, but not like I used to. I was numbing myself deeply. I do it now more as an enjoyment A relaxing piece. There's a difference, the way we do this. And that's the key is right. As we have to.
[00:15:12] Understanding where we are and looking at. What are we numbing or trying to remove from ourselves to. Allow ourselves to create and share.
[00:15:21] And it's interesting to you. He goes on to talk about how consuming products can be just the same way. So he says, instead of applying self knowledge, self discipline, delayed gratification, and hard work, we simply consume a product that's filling that void that we are seeking to do in so many ways that can be done by consuming products.
[00:15:40] It's something we have to be mindful of. It's the same thing. With victim hood. We can fall. We can fall victim to victim hood mindsets. Now we can be a victim in an instance, or a situation. But not be victims of our choice. We can still have terrible things and tragic things happen to us, but know that we have power to overcome them and to make different choices.
[00:16:06] Regardless of what happened.
[00:16:07] Instead of seeking. The attention that we derive from victim hood. That's often what happens many, many times is we'll go out and seek kind of attention for this. As a means to not do the things that we need to do. These are all ways that we ultimately can distract ourselves from doing the work that matters.
[00:16:27] Our partners. Can sometimes be a means to resistance whether they're pulling us away from what we're trying to do. Are we. Support them in their endeavors, but we won't do the same thing for ourselves. So we can, it can go both ways. We can use partners as a means to do that by supporting them or selecting a partner that doesn't support our desire to create an express.
[00:16:50] Again. So it's being mindful of where this resistance pops up in our life. It may be different for everyone. It will be different for everyone.
[00:16:57] But it's just understanding how it can prop up.
[00:16:59] It's. The symptoms of that deep unhappiness, the symptoms of something needing to get out, these things are important. And that's where, when we're looking at unhappiness, And.
[00:17:11] Like this lingering hell, like, why do I feel like hell now I talk a lot about self parenting and nurturing ourselves and we have to ensure that.
[00:17:19] These things are being cared for within us. Now, a lot of us have stories that are still lingering in our adult life that have not been addressed. That's a component of that, but that does not mean we wait to create, to express, to share. We don't wait for this perfect moment of healing. But understanding that our unhappiness can often be an indicator.
[00:17:38] Of not expressing what lives within us.
[00:17:40] We don't like ourselves. We F we feel unhappy about who we are. We do all the things that derive that can distract us from expressing. And that's the key. If we're feeling, if we're seeing those pieces. If we're feeling those things, then that's often symptoms that. We're in an, in resistance. We're experiencing resistance to our calling to our higher life, to our fullest expression of ourselves. Now there's a lot of muck and mire that we often have to go through to reach insights and healing, but that's the point we have to get through it. We have to understand it.
[00:18:13] We have to dive into it and then. Cher. What's happening with Dennis, right? As we're going on this journey. That's the power of it.
[00:18:22] And I love this here. He says, as artists and professionals, it is our obligation to enact our own internal evolution, a private insurrection inside our own schools. In this uprising, we free ourselves from the tyranny of consumer culture. So instead of consuming, we move into creation. That's what it is. We are here to create, not consume. Now consumption is a, is an enjoyable part of life. It can be, but that's not our sole purpose, but that's not what society is telling us. That's not what culture tells us. That's often not what our family members and friends are telling us.
[00:18:55] So we have to overcome those things and understand that these symptoms are signals to us to look deeper and to begin our work.
[00:19:04] So there's an, as we dive more in, there's pieces that. That play in here. Criticism, self doubt, fear, love. All of these things are means to. Lean into resistance. We succumb to criticism. We succumb to self doubt. We succumb to fear. These pieces, stop us from acting. And that's the difference. We all we feel fear. We will experience criticism within ourselves and from others.
[00:19:36] We will absolutely experience self doubt and feel that self doubt. That self doubt though, is an indicator that there's something tangible there's real, something real within you seeking expression. Those are leading indicators, that fear that we have those self-doubts, that self-criticism. Whatever. We're very harsh on ourselves, around in our desire to suit, do something that fear that props up that's resistance and the more, the stronger those feelings.
[00:20:04] The more power that path has for us to potentially transform our lives. And so understanding that those signals, that criticism, that self-doubt, that fear, those things are leading us to. Our possible calling our possible work. Resistant seeks to keep us from that. But it's our job to overcome those things and understand the signals and move into them.
[00:20:29] This is a great paradox to that. Socrates demonstrated along ago, talking about society, culture, fundamentalism the. And how being led by others. So this is what he says, the truly free individuals free only to the extent of his own self-mastery while those who will not govern themselves are condemned to be masters.
[00:20:50] To govern. Are condemned to find masters to govern over them. So while those who not will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters, to govern over themselves. If we do not govern ourselves, someone else will govern us and make a life for ourselves. You're not in this world to live a life made by others.
[00:21:08] You're in this world to live a life made by you. God has given you something inside of you that is in the world to be shared and created. We need that.
[00:21:18] Find it it's in there. It's calling you forward. If you're experiencing these things, then. You know, you are onto something, the greater, the fear, the greater, the resistance, the greater, that doubt. The more palpable it is for your journey to begin and provide some power in the world to create and share something in the world.
[00:21:41] And I love this too. He says about self doubt. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death. So if you're terrified of something, if you're terrified of sharing a story or music or creating a business, Whatever it may be. That fear is an indicator that you're on to something.
[00:22:00] Don't let that doubt stop you from. Jumping in. Because again, the more sacred that work is, the more scared we're going to be of our calling. That's how fear and resistance work hand in hand.
[00:22:12] This is another interesting, too, right? Resistance and love. This is where it's directly proportionate to love. So the resistance that we feel will be directly proportional to the love. That's what I was saying. So earlier, if you feel this great amount of fear, resistance, doubt. Towards something.
[00:22:27] Then you most likely fill a lot of love for that thing. There's something in you that once out there's a lot of love that must, that, that you're pulled into this project. That's desired these ideas because. Love sustaina sustains us doing this work. Creating, expressing building is hard. It takes time. It literally is our life. It's our energy.
[00:22:49] So when there's a great amount of resistance, it's almost. Absolutely true. That there's going to be a great amount of love as well for the thing that we are resisting. So that's another indicator, right? He says that being resistance and being a star. Basically. Grandiose fantasies are a symptom of resistance.
[00:23:07] Because the professional has learned that success like happiness comes as a by-product of work, not the thing itself. It's a by-product. So the desire to be a star is somewhat of an illusion. I fell in this too. I had these grandiose ideas and it distracted me away from doing the work. And I was wallowing in my own pity until I realized that this is not a means to really change and live the way that I want to live. So I.
[00:23:34] Dug in and got deeper. I went deeper into myself and I stopped. Making excuses. And I stopped buying into these grandiose ideas that I was seeking societal approval effectively.
[00:23:45] So a few more things here, and then we're going to get into what it means to being a professional. Cause we've talked a lot about the resistance side of this. And. There is an isolation component to resistance in the sense that you move away from the crowd to work on the work that we're doing. But the difference is though.
[00:24:05] You're not actually alone when you go away to do the work, because you're now with your work. You're in the realm of creation. That's not a loan. You're in your own space. But you're orchestrating with the universe at that point. At that point, we are in the middle of this beautiful composition.
[00:24:23] So when we move away from the crowd to go about our work and isolate ourselves, we're not alone. Truly. We are there with our work together. So we don't have to think about it necessarily as isolating ourselves from others, but at the same time, That is how we move into a creative state too. To be in that space with our creations.
[00:24:47] He goes on to talk about healing, resistance and healing and how, as I was mentioning earlier, How healing can be an excuse for never doing the work. Like I will heal and then I will work. I will heal. And then I will create, I will do this course. I will do this therapy. I will do this thing. And then I will create.
[00:25:03] That's a form of resistance. If we're delaying the now to act now to do the work now for some future state that is resistant, sabotaging our efforts to work today.
[00:25:13] It kind of ties into the same concept here, resistance and support, looking at how we can fall into the idea of communities and. And workshops and doing all these things, supporting from our friends and family, it's okay to have help and support along the way. But if we're relying solely on all these people around us, we're not relying on ourselves.
[00:25:36] And that ultimately limits our expression and our, and weakens what we can do. And the world. So understanding that the greatest support that we can offer first comes from ourselves. And that's where we should be looking to build it is within ourselves. And we become our own source of the support and that's the power of it.
[00:25:55] Last bit here is rationalization. We rationalize a lot of things and there are legitimate rationalizations around money needs. Things that we have to do that are true, but that doesn't change the fact that our work, if we really want to be who we are and share what matters to us and find fulfillment and peace, we have to do the work regardless.
[00:26:17] No matter the needs that we may have in our life. That may mean if we have kids or if we are married or if we have a full-time job that we're working at, we have to do those things in order to allow ourselves the ability to create. We have to handle our priorities, but it doesn't. Excuse. Doing the work.
[00:26:36] Overcoming this resistance to do the work. So rationalizations can be dangerous because we can come up with all kinds of reasons on why we're not doing the work. And that's the danger of it. Logic is important, but not if it's present preventing us from creating and expressing ourselves.
[00:26:53] And ultimately re resistance can be beat. It absolutely can be beat as it sticks with us the higher and further we go along the way we get stronger in the ability to overcome what that means. And so now we're looking at the difference of what makes a professional versus an amateur. It's not professionals like doctors or lawyers or any things of that nature, but it professionals are ones that have committed to the work and are carrying themselves in a very specific way. And the way a professional handles themselves is very different than the way an amateur.
[00:27:26] He handles himself and he's talking about it. Steven Pressfield is talking about it in the relationship to our work and our creative process. Because of that. So it's ultimately. There's a distinction.
[00:27:39] Of the professional that's different from the amateur and amateurs don't stick through, this is the thing like I've quit so many things in my life because it wasn't right for who I was. I've bailed because I was doing it for the wrong reasons. Money status. Whatever it may be, but it wasn't the thing.
[00:27:59] That drew me forward.
[00:28:00] And so this distinction between amateur and professional is about committing to the work full time. Seeing it as a long time, long-term life commitment. That's what he S that's what he means when he's talking about turning pro. We are committing our life to this thing. Not just doing it as a hobby or now this is the difference, right? You can commit your life to a task and do it as a side hustle starting out. That's not what this is. It doesn't mean you literal full-time, but it means that you are committing fully to the work and the path that you're on a lifelong pursuit to make this a reality.
[00:28:34] That's the difference.
[00:28:35] A professional knows that resistance will strike and therefore we must stand armed against it, understanding what it is and pushing through it is key. And so that's why. Being on schedule, having systems showing up every day, doing the work regardless how we feel is the difference between professionals and amateurs.
[00:28:57] You show up, you do the work, you sit down and you make it happen. Now, even if that's just 30 minutes a day. Or an hour at Monday through Friday, it doesn't matter. The key is you set a schedule and you stick to it. Even if you sit there and do nothing thinking, looking at the thing that you're trying to do and not browsing the web, not scrolling Twitter, none of those things, but even just sitting there and doing nothing on a blank screen.
[00:29:24] Even recording, whatever it may be, whatever you're seeking to do. Showing up is key. Being there. That's what defines a professional.
[00:29:33] And that's the difference. And I was talking about this the other day on Twitter is. Inspiration shows up for those who show up it doesn't. Writers don't it doesn't come. Randomly. Inspiration comes when we show up every day and we provide the opportunity for inspiration to strike.
[00:29:51] Because as professionals we have to define, what's important. We have urgency and importance and we have to know what's important and we have to sit down and we do those things. Getting up and doing the work is hard. We resist it. It's tough. Nobody wants to do it sometimes. Where there's all these excuses on what we can make.
[00:30:11] But it's pushing through those things and doing the work in spite of how we're feeling. That's the key. Now, this is a hard, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. And he goes on to talk about being miserable. Is a part of being a pro learning to be miserable, learning, to embrace misery, knowing that this can suck. Now, if you love what you're doing, that process, the creative aspect of it. If you're in the moment doing it.
[00:30:36] The act itself, won't be miserable, but it's all the things around it. It's the things that you have to do to support that. If you have a crappy job that you have to work so that you can do your side hustle, if you have to continuously get rejected. Around your scripts or whatever it may be until one day you're fully supporting yourself from those things.
[00:30:55] That's the misery of it. The pain, the rejection. The suffering, the continuous failures. That's the suffering, but if you can lean into that, if you can learn to love it, knowing that you're committed to your craft. You will be successful. You will overcome whatever that may be. It's sticking to it. That defines us. That's the key.
[00:31:17] And he L he goes on to say that we're all pros already. And most of us have jobs. So if we have jobs, we're already pros. We show up every day we work for money. We get a paycheck. We show up no matter what we do, what we need to do. We're committed over the long haul. So these are the components of what he says or make a pro. We show up every day we show up no matter what.
[00:31:41] We stay on the job all day. We're committed over the long haul. The stakes for us are high and real. We accept. Remi remuneration for our labor. So we get paid for the work that we're doing. We don't over identify with our jobs. We mastered the technique of our jobs. We have a sense of humor about our jobs and we receive praise or blame in the real world.
[00:32:04] That's the difference. But most people don't do that. They don't show up every day. They don't show up regardless of how they feel. They don't take their failures and criticisms. They quit. So that's a difference. We have to keep pounding. Grit truly is the defining characteristic and people that succeed over time.
[00:32:22] Not some masterful ability or talent. Our muse. It's grit. And you have to keep showing up. And you really have to do it for. The love of the game. And I think that's what he talks about. And I love this point here that he talks about too. He realized he had became a pro, not because he had a success because he had a massive failure and he talks about a screenwright. That he wrote that was just epically horrible at the box office.
[00:32:49] But when you're out there doing something and failing epically, getting destroyed out in the open market, the real world you're winning. It may not feel like it now, but if you're creating, sharing and putting something out there and getting destroyed. You're one step closer to succeeding because you've checked off a big failure. That is a huge success.
[00:33:11] And that's the key thing there, right? Is that. Failing is a whole part of the process of learning and growing and adjusting and evolving what we're doing. Evolving our craft. Sticking with it as crucial.
[00:33:22] To clarify. So with the love of the game, and this is what he talks about. Though approa accepts money. It's really the love for that work that it's driving all of us. You can't do this for your life. If you don't really love it. If it's only money you want, you won't stick with it. I've made that mistake so many times seeking money e-commerce stores jobs.
[00:33:46] Tons of things I've started in launched businesses that have failed lawn care businesses. Lots of things that did not work out because my heart was not in it. I was pursuing money alone. And. The game. Is about long-term persistency, continuing sticking with it. That's the difference, right? That's what is so also empowering. Incredible is that.
[00:34:09] Loving the game, sticking with it, being patient, knowing that. It's a long journey. Patients is what defines a professional. Delayed gratification, learning to love delayed gratification. The more we can do that, the more we can look at the longterm game. Delaying our gratification. The higher, our probability for success in doing the things that we desire to do, it is a longterm game.
[00:34:36] Professional seek order. Not only is it professional patient doing it for the love. Seeks order. So we want to create clarity and order around us in our environment, because we know that will being bring about the best opportunity for us to do the things that we need to do to create the best work for us.
[00:34:53] A professional demystifies. There's no woo about the work it's about coming to work every day, showing up, putting yourself in the seat and doing it. Not waiting for some inspirational muse. It's focusing on the technique, focusing on the things that we can control, mastering all those elements. Letting everything else go.
[00:35:13] That's. A component of a professional. A pro acts and fight of in acts in spite of fear acts right in the face of fear. We are not absent of fear ever, but we act in spite of it. We professionals accept no excuses. Regardless of what's happening. We accept no excuses. We learn. We grow. We press on, but there is no excuses for us to not do that work.
[00:35:41] No matter what it is, that's justification. Otherwise. If it's something we truly desire to do and build in the world and we will not accept excuses.
[00:35:48] We will play the game as it lays. So the professional will start where they are, no matter what, if it's a rough terrain. If you're struggling, if you're depressed, if you're broke, if you're poor, all of those things, it doesn't matter. We start where we lay. So where we begin, where we find ourselves, we act.
[00:36:09] And that's the difference. We're not waiting on conditions to change. We say, I will act now.
[00:36:13] We're prepared. And in prepared not around craft, but knowing that self-sabotage is the ultimate undermining force to stopping our work. That's what we're prepared against to fight against self-sabotage that's a component of professionalism is being prepared to resist the resistance.
[00:36:33] Professionals don't show off. We have our own style work. We have work. We have a style to our work. But the work speaks for itself. We're not trying to draw attention to ourselves. That will happen in time. As we're authentic to who we are.
[00:36:48] A professional is dedicated to mastering their craft. The technique. Not superior, but always learning, always growing. Always looking to improve.
[00:37:00] Professionals don't hesitate to ask for help. We all need coaches, guides, ways that we can learn. The best athletes in the world have coaches. To work on their craft. That's what it's about. We all need help support, and that is okay. An amateur thinks he knows everything thinks he has to do everything on his own.
[00:37:19] I made them. This mistake in the past, but I will say this that's where books came into play for me. I knew I didn't have all the answers. That's why I love reading is because you could leverage the minds of so many people throughout history and learn from them. That's a brilliant thing. So we never hesitate to ask for help, even if that means going to a book and learning.
[00:37:37] Looking at things to grow and improve upon our skills so that we can continue to master our craft.
[00:37:43] A professional distances themselves from their instrument. So it's disconnecting. It's understanding that it's an instrument, whatever that craft is, it's an instrument for us to self express. It's not who we are per se. It's our means. So understanding that this is a thing, a tool that we're wielding and not what defines us as a human as a beautiful being of life.
[00:38:04] It's a means. A professional does not take failure or success personally. It's just part of the process. It's part of the process. Now it's hard because everything in us is hardwired to go against that.
[00:38:17] Because we want to be accepted. We want to be approved. We want to be loved. But.
[00:38:21] Understanding that it's about our work. It's our craft. It's separate from us. People can think about our successes and failures, as much as they want. We're here to work. We're here to express. It's honestly irrelevant what most people may think. And many ways, that's the mindset we have to bring when we're doing this work.
[00:38:38] Now we obviously want to impact that's the mission that we're on, but that's up to us. What that means.
[00:38:43] A professional endures adversity. This is I think one of the most sticking. I mean, really? It's all about what this means. So you can't take things personally, you're going to get, we're going to get rejected, humiliated, criticized, ostracized. So many things. When we step outside of the herd to do.
[00:39:01] What matters to us. It's only at that point.
[00:39:04] By pushing through, do we allow ourselves the opportunity to continue to create and express and share, and one day truly live that life that we're aiming to create. But we have to adhere through adversity could because things will be hard. It's just, it's. Guaranteed. It will be hard if we're doing something different, unique and expressing ourselves.
[00:39:26] Professional south validate.
[00:39:28] We don't look for the validation of others. I've talked about this on other episodes. We're not looking for external validation. We are validating ourselves. We master ourselves. We live within who we are. We are seeking our own expression. We are seeking our own. Path. Because we know. It lives within us. We know that it matters.
[00:39:47] And it's ours and it's ours to share, and it doesn't matter what other people think about it. So we validate ourselves, we seek to validate ourselves as professional, no matter what people say, it's hard not to do that. That's the whole idea of thick skin really is. I validate myself. I don't depend upon what other people think about my work and what I'm doing.
[00:40:06] It's a hard place to be, but it is possible. We do that bit by bit, we work bit by bit to get there.
[00:40:11] Couple pieces and more wrap the episode here. A professional recognizes her limitations.
[00:40:16] That means that we get help, where we don't find. So if you're a writer and you hate designing, then you get a designer. If you need a lawyer and you don't do that, you get a lawyer, you get an accountant, whatever it is. We're professional at our thing. And we also honor the professionals at other, at their crafts and we bring them in when we need them. So we recognize our limits.
[00:40:37] Professionals are not afraid to reinvent themselves because throughout this long journey, things change. And we change and evolve with it over that time. And because of that, We have to be willing to reinvent ourselves as we learn, grow, and change.
[00:40:51] And then a professional was recognized by other professionals. They see it in. That person. They know it. So we recognize one another. This is the beautiful thing about networking is you can connect with other professionals who are on the same journey. So I implore you to do that. Connect with people that you resonate with, that you feel strongly about.
[00:41:09] And then it's the FA the final piece here is that it's just a critter that keeps on coming resistance. Never stops. It will never stop. It will always pursue us as we're on this path. And if we don't choose that path, And we choose to suppress it. What will happen is the lingering. Dissatisfaction of not sharing.
[00:41:31] Our truth, not sharing our craft. That's the pain I was in that space. And I can tell you this. That place is much more miserable than struggling through making it work on the side and doing the things that are necessary, working some jobs that you may not feel good about struggling, where you are with your finances.
[00:41:48] All of those things do not compare to not sharing and living that truth. That's the greater pain. That's what I've learned. And I know that's true here for so many people. So it's denying that as far more painful than the struggle and pain that comes from choosing it. I can absolutely say that.
[00:42:04] It's just sticking with it. Because ultimately there's no mystery to this. It's showing up.
[00:42:10] Putting the work in. Understanding, it's going to be a lifelong journey, understanding that it's a struggle, understanding that it takes time. We have to remind ourselves of these things day in and day out. If we want to overcome. This internal resistance. That's all I've got for today's show. I hope you found it helpful. We continue to roll out, being very active on Twitter. Hopefully you're signing up for the sub stack here, getting releases and updates as they're coming out.
[00:42:34] It's really great to have you. I really appreciate your time and your you're listening ship. You're your audience. It's great. So I really appreciate your time and energy. I hope you're finding value in the content. And until next time y'all.
[00:42:48]
"God has given you something inside of you that is in the world to be shared and created." Absolutely. That is the defining reason to move higher in our resonance, to undergo the metamorphoses toward our highest expression, not matter what resistance we face, whether it looks like the inside or the outside. To share and create ultimately is the joy of being creators in the creator's image, I believe. That is why we are here and what we are here to experience! I also think a lot of the lower that we've "owned" is actually implants and isn't our divine design at all
Also love 18:22