Re The War of Art

I left this comment on a site reviewing The War of Art.

People I know like this book, so I bought it lst year and read it. And, as usual, I got pissed off.

In more diplomatic terms, I faced what a writer speaker with a lot of years of searching, learning, developing new methods for dealing with resistance, and writing 7 books about it often faces:

1) Frustration that readers are settling for Descriptions (here's what resistance is, here's what it does, you'll find it when you want to do things, you'll hate yourself, etc. etc.)instead of Prescriptions (here's what to do about this kind of resistance, and here's what to do when the Big Resistance has you, and here's when to do these things)and

2)some evil envy that books like this one are bigger bestsellers than my bestsellers.


I like this book, too, but like so many others, it doesn't seem concerned with the sources of resistance. Why do we resist? All I could find was that it has something to do with our 'dark side.' (That's from memory, so excuse if it's not exactly what Pressman said.) I don't know how anyone can be satisfied with that explanation. I never have been.

I've spent many years coming up with ways to get around resistance. In fact, I've been called The Resistance Whisperer, and often write on my blog of that name. (There's a letter to Seth Godin there now, that I don't want to bump down, so I'll wait a while to post on this subject over there.)

I've gotten great results with the methods I've developed in every book I've written and workshop and retreat I've run. But when resistance is tenacious, there's something under it, and that's what's always seemed most important to me.

One thing I know doesn't work -- and I've been very clear about this for a very long time -- is Positive Thinking. Another is toughing it out, battling resistance with determination, will power, self-discipline (aka 'The Male, Military Model.'). A little respect is due Resistance. It's much more powerful than our puny efforts to wrestle it to the ground. But, although we are weak, we are clever and tricky, and when it comes to ways of getting around resistance, I've seen a lot of great tips and tricks, and I've produced a lot of good ones myself.

I've found a number of things that do work. The one people pull out their pens to write down in my audiences is "Isolation is the dreamkiller." I have a cartoon booklet called 'How To Get What You Really Want When You Have No Character, No Goals, And You're Often in a Lousy Mood," that advises readers to start a team or buddy system. These are powerful weapons again resistance. The work like school worked, like the IRS works: with structure and accountability.

But even that is often not enough. When there's a stone in your shoe, nothing fixes it but to sit down, take your shoe off, and remove the stone. Toughing it out with self discipline isn't often the smart thing to do in my opinion. And no, my way doesn't require years of psychoanalysis. If my teleclasses go as they usually do, I'll be popping people out of resistance tonight and next week in less than 10 minutes.

I even have a blog dedicated to the subject. (See my signature below) And a bunch of best-selling books. (See amazon.com) All of them offer real solutions, and if the resistance just won't go away, they show you how to find that stone and get it out of your shoe.

Commiserating about resistance is very pleasant, but I argue that not very many people show you how to find out why resistance is stopping you and how you can melt it every time it shows up. I do.

Barbara Sher
www.geniuspress.com
http://theresistancewhisperer.blogspot.com
Twitter: @barbarasher

PS: I'm teaching my small master class for coaches to do the same and hoping their efforts will wake everyone up to this thinking. (I'm not promoting the class. It's closed and a new one won't start until next year, if at all.)