Resistance is not a peripheral opponent. Resistance arises from within. It is self-generated and self-perpetuated. resistance is the enemy within.
Interpretation
Resistance is an internal challenge that originates from our own fears and doubts.
In this quote, Steven Pressfield emphasizes that resistance is not an external force we have to battle against, but rather an internal struggle that each individual faces. It highlights the importance of recognizing that the biggest obstacles to success and creativity often stem from our own insecurities and self-doubt, urging us to confront and overcome these internal barriers to achieve our goals.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to inspire individuals facing creative blocks.
Late at night have you experienced a vision of the person you might become, the work you could accomplish, the realized being you were meant to be? Are you a writer who doesn't write, a painter who doesn't paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what Resistance is.
It is one thing to study war and another to live the warrior's life.
The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.
When we sit down day after day and keep grinding, something mysterious starts to happen... Unseen forces enlist in our cause; serendipity reinforces our purpose.
You know, Hitler wanted to be an artist. At eighteen he took his inheritance, seven hundred kronen, and moved to Vienna to live and study... Ever see one of his paintings? Neither have I. Resistance beat him. Call it overstatement but I'll say it anyway: it was easier for Hitler to start World War II than it was for him to face a blank square of canvas.
Itβs better to be in the arena, getting stomped by the bull, than to be up in the stands or out in the parking lot.
Women have been taught that, for us, the earth is flat, and that if we venture out, we will fall off the edge. Some of us have ventured out nevertheless, and so far we have not fallen off. It is my faith, my feminist faith, that we will not.
I grew up with a deep belief that wherever our troops fought, they were on the side of the angels.
Some boys accepted me, some didn't. And my family had comments made to them. Brazil is still a very macho society, and sports are mainly for boys, so people would say to them: 'What is this girl doing? Why is she always out there in the soccer games with the boys?'
Anyone who suggests that coming back from suicidal despair is a straightforward journey has never taken it.
They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason.
Many Tibetans sacrifice their lives.
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