Life is a battlefield!
This morning while walking the dog, I asked myself, “Are you winning in life?” I answered, “This very moment? Yes.” I was, as I mentioned, walking my dog which is a double-win in my book. A, it’s good for the dog, and 2, I certainly need the exercise.
Walking is when I do most of my thinking. There’s something healthy and enabling about being out in nature. Sometimes I listen to podcasts or music while I walk, but the best moments come when I listen to the birds and the wind and of course myself.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of resistance. Have you heard of it? If not, check out a very short book on the subject called “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. I recommend the Audible version. He self-narrates the book and his performance is wonderful.
The book only takes around two and half hours to listen to and it is always on subject. There is no wasted space. As soon as I finished it the first time, I started over from the beginning and listened to it again. It was that impactful on my life.
Resistance is that force in our lives that prevents us from taking action for the better. It’s that little voice in our head or maybe the devil on our shoulder that whispers all the wrong advice. Resistance keeps you from doing your work.
Maybe you want to be a writer or a dancer or a doctor. Whatever your path is, resistance is what blocks your way and slows you down.
So when I ask, Are you Winning in Life”, I’m asking, are you giving into resistance? Are you failing to start? Do you show up every day and do your best?
Dreams Don’t Pay the Bills
If I could get paid for fantasies, I would be a millionaire!
I’m a dreamer! I have a vivid and active imagination. This is a good thing. I’ve always been a dreamer ever since I was a young boy. The difference however, is that between the boy I once was and the man I now am, I don’t always follow through. Sometimes, I don’t even start.
The passion that once burned in my veins has been tempered by life.
Do you know that line in Star Wars A New Hope, when Luke and his wing mates are trying to blow up the Death Star? They had to navigate down that bumpy metal trench dodging blaster fire and then take a near perfect shot that would cause a chain reaction and blow it up.
During the first firing run the flight commander droned, “Stay on target. Stay on target!” Such a simple reminder that so many of us fail at every day.
Stay on target! Don’t surf the web or get stuck on Facebook. Do your work. You need to show up, every day, at the same time, and do your work, whatever it is.
The only problem is, Resistance doesn’t want you to. It doesn’t want you to succeed and it will do anything it can to see that you don’t.
Being a Professional
Another topic that Steven talks about in his book is the difference between being a Professional versus being an Amateur.
This concept is profound for me. I’ve been in the military for over 20 years. I’m an officer nearing retirement. I love what I’ve accomplished in my career and who I’ve served. I’ve done everything to the best of my ability. I’m a professional.
Working in the Army has been a labor of love. Nothing that I have done before or since has given me such satisfaction. Interestingly, I’ve also never had a job where I have worked so hard and for such long hours.
Now I’m in the reserves counting the days until I retire. Absent from the active duty ranks, I feel like I’m on my own, with no one to serve, and that makes life emptier. So, I serve the Muse. I create.
The difference is passion. The difference is being an officer was my work. It was what I was supposed to be doing. The difference is I didn’t have a choice because I had already made my choice (and the Army has a way of keeping you in line).
I have to say that as a freelancer it is much more difficult to show up every day and write that book or write that blog post. The resistance is there begging me to stay in bed or whispering that it doesn’t really matter or that you are going to fail, so you might as well not even start.
But, I digress. Stay on target! Do it for the muse. Work because you love what you are doing. And, be a professional!
So, Are You Winning?
Right this second? Yes, because I’m taking action. I’m writing. I’m winning.
No one wins every battle, but the person who doesn’t start has already lost the war.
I’m just throwing this out there. Offering this up to the Gods. A work, a prayer of sorts, imploring the great Muse to bestow upon me her divine gifts of creation. She only blesses those that take action.
Something magical happens when we start, when we begin the work of our dreams. And the energy and momentum only increase if we continue to work.
Work. Keep working. Never stop. Never give up. Keep at it and one day the work will start to give back.
Follow your dreams, whatever they are. Be the best you that you can be. Be the “You” you were born to be!
Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash
