{"id":4208,"date":"2020-07-27T06:43:36","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T06:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/?page_id=4208"},"modified":"2021-09-19T15:40:39","modified_gmt":"2021-09-19T15:40:39","slug":"do-the-work-steven-pressfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/do-the-work-steven-pressfield\/","title":{"rendered":"Do the Work Summary (Steven Pressfield)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The War of Art is probably one of my favourite books. <br><br>Steven Pressfield&#8217;s follow up picks up a similar thread of overcoming that invisible force he calls resistance, which prevents us from engaging in our most important work.<br><br>In order to conquer our fears, <a href=\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/causes-of-procrastination\/\">overcome procrastination<\/a> and fulfil our deepest ambitions, we must learn how to get things done, especially those things which truly matter to us.<br><br>So if you want to learn how to do accomplish your most important work, this Do the Work summary is a good start.<br><br>Let&#8217;s dive in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Allies and enemies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The book starts by covering the concept of resistance, which is useful if you haven&#8217;t already read The War of Art.<br><br>Certain factors move us <a href=\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/goal-setting-worksheet\/\">towards our goals<\/a> while others obstruct our path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Allies<\/strong> &#8211; good music which helps you work out<\/li><li><strong>Enemies<\/strong> &#8211; time-sucking TV shows<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The keys to achieving any goal? Ambition and self-awareness.<br><br>However, these are always vulnerable to resistance, the perennial enemy.<br><br>Resistance manifests as the criticism and doubt you experience when engaged in any meaningful or passion-fuelled activity.<br><br>The more important an activity is to you and the more energy intensive it is, the more resistance is present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f6f9fb;color:#4d535e\"><strong>Real-world example<\/strong> &#8211; Henry Fonda used to vomit before every performance, even when he was 75 years old and one of the most famous actors alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Passion and dedication are important allies, but so too are those traditionally perceived as negative, like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Ignorance<\/li><li>Stubborness<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Ignorance, arrogance and stubbornness help you forge ahead despite doubts, especially in difficult times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Barriers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The common barriers to <a href=\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/goals\/\">achieving your goals<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Excessive preparation<\/li><li>Overthinking<\/li><li>Working without structure<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Learning to resist these pitfalls is central to getting things done.<br><br>To overcome them, we need to bring self-awareness to our work, where we can learn to judge our thoughts and feelings objectively.<br><br>Self-doubt is simply a form of resistance and we must simply learn to ignore it.<br><br>In this way, work becomes a form of meditation.<br><br>When starting, it&#8217;s better to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Act first<\/strong> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/taking-action\/\">focus on doing work<\/a>, not thinking about it<\/li><li><strong>Reflect later<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, as a writer, put words on the page and then evaluate afterwards.<br><br>Create productive schedules to separate these two activities.<br><br>A useful format to adopt is the three-act structure, where you divide your idea into the:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Beginning<\/li><li>Middle<\/li><li>End<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When taking on a sizeable project, ask yourself some preliminary questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>What&#8217;s the project about?<\/li><li>What&#8217;s the theme?<\/li><li>What&#8217;s missing?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Confront your enemies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Creative blocks are common and many of us lose confidence during these periods.<br><br>When faced with such an obstruction:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Remain calm<\/li><li>Remember that&#8217;s it&#8217;s always possible to overcome it<\/li><li>Realise that an enemy force is actively working against you and your dreams<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This force isn&#8217;t an external entity, but rather is within you, so don&#8217;t cast blame outwards.<br><br>Just because the enemy is within you doesn&#8217;t mean that it is you. It&#8217;s simply a block on your creative self.<br><br>To overcome this force it&#8217;s essential to find love for your work and what you&#8217;ve already created.<br><br>When this resistance occurs, ask yourself two questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><em>How badly to do want this?<\/em> If you&#8217;re only in it for power, reward or prestige, it&#8217;s not enough. Rather, the only sufficient answer is &#8216;totally committed&#8217;.<\/li><li><em>Why do you want this?<\/em> You can do something because it&#8217;s fun, but also because you &#8216;have no choice&#8217;.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Only this level of profound dedication allows you to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Finishing your work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At some point, you&#8217;ll face a big crash like your computer deleting your novel.<br><br>We can&#8217;t predict them, but we can overcome them.<br><br>A crash can be extremely rewarding, but also beneficial, forcing us to figure out what is and isn&#8217;t working with our project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f6f9fb;color:#4d535e\"><strong>Real-world example<\/strong> &#8211; when Pressfield finished his book &#8216;The Profession&#8217;, his friends hated it, forcing him to revise and improve his work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Crashes might also appear when:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>You advance to a higher level in your work and creative pursuits &#8211; crossing each new threshold brings to courage to push further<\/li><li>The fear of success &#8211; which lies at the heart of resistance<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Resistance is often strongest when we&#8217;re about the cross the finish line.<br><br>Michael Crichton, the award-winning author, pushed himself harder when he was nearing the end of a novel by getting up earlier and earlier and working around the clock.<br><br><a href=\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/daily-practice\/\">The more we practice<\/a> overcoming such struggles, the easier we&#8217;ll overcome them in the future, making us stronger and wiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do the Work summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>We often stop just before we&#8217;re about to see success<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/understanding-fear\/\">Fear<\/a> and doubt are passion and progress killers &#8211; focus on the inherent joy the work brings rather than relying on external rewards<\/li><li>Identify enemies and utilise allies in your work<\/li><li>Set a clear working structure, which separates action and reflection<\/li><li>Creative blocks and crashes should be expected. Ask yourself how much and why you want it. There should be a deep need to continue because ultimately, you have no choice<\/li><li>Overcoming these obstacles makes us stronger and wiser<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Like this? Then&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/category\/books\/summaries\/\">browse more book summaries<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Want to do work that truly matters? <\/p>\n<p>You must overcome fear, doubt and resistance. <\/p>\n<p>Learn how in this &#8216;Do the Work&#8217; summary, by Steven Pressfield<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,87],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Do the Work Summary (Steven Pressfield) | Bloomsoup<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Want to do work that truly matters? You must overcome fear, doubt and resistance. 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