“Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It is the root of more unhappiness than poverty, disease, and erectile dysfunction. To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be.” – Steven Pressfield
If you are an “amateur,” the ever-so-clever resistance takes the passion you have and makes it your enemy. As the amazing Steven Pressfield explains it:
“Resistance outwits the amateur with the oldest trick in the book: It uses his own enthusiasm against him. Resistance gets us to plunge into a project with an overambitious and unrealistic timetable for its completion. It knows we can’t sustain that level of intensity. We will hit the wall. We will crash.”
This relates back to our conversation about instant gratification. Amateur businesses expect things to happen quickly, but that’s not always the case. Understand that not every task can be completed right away. Just like a gardener plants seeds and has to wait for them to grow, so must you sometimes bide your time before seeing results from your work. The professional is persistent, not impulsive.
“The professional arms himself with patience, not only to give the stars time to align in his career, but to keep himself from flaming out in each individual work. He knows that any job, whether it’s a novel or a kitchen remodel, takes twice as long as he thinks and costs twice as much. He accepts that. He recognizes it as reality.”
Part of living in ambiguity is finding a balance between passion and patience. Your excitement should be respected, but your energy needs to be conserved. Be prepared for any roadblocks you might encounter along the way knowing that it will all eventually pay off in the end.
It’s time to ask yourself–are you an amateur at your job, or a professional?
This article was originally published on Live in the Grey.
[Related: 10 Ways to Make the Most of Your 20s Professionally]
