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The Seduction of the Resistance Monster: Day 6 of Writing Every Day

By on September 8, 2010 in Systems and Strategy

As part of my 60 day sabbatical, I’m instituting a new habit of writing every day.

First thing, as soon as I get up in the morning. Before any other work projects, before I leave the house to get my coffee (!!), before I do the dishes or indulge in any other excuse to not get the writing done.

Write. First. Every. Day.

And it doesn’t necessarily have to be a publishable blog post. It could be a journal entry of unbloggable content, just for myself, or to share with that one special person. An email blast to my list. A guest post. A subsection of The Live Your Truth Manifesto.

I don’t even have to know ahead of time.

Anything. Just the truth. Just what pours out of me.

Just. Write.

It’s already been amazing – I’ve been publishing tons of great content, I feel like I’ve already been productive by this time every morning, I’m doing the most important thing even before coffee (!!), and I have been working through tons of feelings (writing is amazing therapy), accessing ideas that didn’t have the space to surface.

But today the resistance monster paid me a visit.

She said: “oh, Elizabeth, you can take the day off, you have a lot going on. You wrote a little bit already. You made a video yesterday that you can post today, you don’t need to write something for your blog. You’ve been posting so much lately, there is a theory it’s better to post just every few days, so maybe you’re reducing your web traffic and comments. You don’t feel like writing. You don’t know what to write about. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, I’ll keep your little secret.”

So, in response to her polite assault, I sat down to write.

Not about what I had planned to write about, not what wasn’t working.

But what flowed out of me. What was already leaking from the tips of my fingers.

Just like the bitch in the corner, the resistance monster always strikes when you are about to do something amazing.

When you are making a change. Instituting a new habit. Taking a risk. Speaking your truth.

The voices in your head have a conspiracy to keep you safe.

To keep you small. To keep you the same as everybody else.

But I think the secret isn’t to resist her. It isn’t to fight her. It isn’t to beat her down or make her leave. (She’s not going anywhere anyway.)

The secret is to dance with her. To seduce her.

The secret is to write her.

–

How do you deal with resistance?

What happens when you are “trying” to be creative, when you are “trying” to change or create a new habit? What gets you stuck/unstuck?

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  • JackiYo

    I’ve been saying “OK, resistance monster. Let’s go play. Putting that off sounds like a great idea! You’re so right. It’s a beautiful day. I can’t waste it inside!” or “You’re right, resistance monster. I’ll just read that post first – or that video. Oooo. I better learn that first before I start.”

    #problems

    • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

      mine sometime uses extreme self care as excuse. and the bitch in the corner thinks i should never do self care. so it’s all kinds of problems around here.

      • seagirl

        You could pull a Havi (Fluent Self) and write about a little meeting between The Bitch In The Corner and The Resistance Monster. I can already picture it. The BITC is played by Joan Collins, and the other one is Glenda, The Good Witch.

  • http://youtube.com/user/tommyisastrategist Tommy Walker

    Thanks for this Elizabeth!

    I’m actually fighting the resistance monster myself right now… which is why I’ve come to check out this post, because it caught my eye as I’m trying to find things to write about.

    Funny part is, it seems like that’s all that’s coming out today from everyone. What to do when you’re burned out, or have run out of things to say…

    I. really. needed. this. post.

    • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

      glad to help :)

  • http://alexiapetrakos.com Alexia

    “The voices in your head have a conspiracy to keep you safe. To keep you small. To keep you the same as everybody else.”

    Yes! That’s what I keep fighting every single morning I sit down to write my 3 pages. it’s been 8 weeks for me, and even though I’ve been more on than off, the voices that keep me from writing are the same that chastise me for NOT writing.

    My head is a crazy war zone sometimes…

    • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

      totally agree, the voices are impossible to both obey at the same time. in a way, that’s good … then the only way to win is to not play their game.

  • meganmatthieson

    Thank God for Writing! (or…I’d go broke broke trying to get enough people to listen to this shhhhh) But truly, it pains me to think of writing my morning pages w out coffee! Quadruple points for putting fingers to keys without drugs. :)

    • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

      I always go out for coffee – it’s both coffee plus my morning walk – so helps me to get motivated to finish if I know I have that reward. :)

  • http://loveyourmessbook.com Allison Nazarian

    “The secret is to write her” ` f-ing brilliant!

    • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

      And isn’t that always the thing? The secret to writing is to just write exactly what’s going on, exactly who is speaking.

      Maybe there is a story there, where each of the characters in my brain has their own out loud voice. Hum.

  • JackiYo

    I've been saying “OK, resistance monster. Let's go play. Putting that off sounds like a great idea! You're so right. It's a beautiful day. I can't waste it inside!” or “You're right, resistance monster. I'll just read that post first – or that video. Oooo. I better learn that first before I start.”

    #problems

  • http://tommy.ismy.name Tommy is my name

    Thanks for this Elizabeth!

    I'm actually fighting the resistance monster myself right now… which is why I've come to check out this post, because it caught my eye as I'm trying to find things to write about.

    Funny part is, it seems like that's all that's coming out today from everyone. What to do when you're burned out, or have run out of things to say…

    I. really. needed. this. post.

  • http://alexiapetrakos.com Alexia

    “The voices in your head have a conspiracy to keep you safe. To keep you small. To keep you the same as everybody else.”

    Yes! That's what I keep fighting every single morning I sit down to write my 3 pages. it's been 8 weeks for me, and even though I've been more on than off, the voices that keep me from writing are the same that chastise me for NOT writing.

    My head is a crazy war zone sometimes…

  • meganmatthieson

    Thank God for Writing! (or…I'd go broke broke trying to get enough people to listen to this shhhhh) But truly, it pains me to think of writing my morning pages w out coffee! Quadruple points for putting fingers to keys without drugs. :)

  • http://allisonnazarian.com/ Allison Nazarian

    “The secret is to write her” ` f-ing brilliant!

  • http://twitter.com/julianowebpages Bret Juliano

    The internet is resistance monster, or at least the distraction monster.

    Thanks for the article, I definitely can relate and actually I have been doing the same thing with my blog posts recently. I put them off for longer than I should and was told by a friend that I was expected to publish a new post this week, and within 24 hours of that message I had a great new blog post up….it went up this morning in fact.

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    mine sometime uses extreme self care as excuse. and the bitch in the corner thinks i should never do self care. so it's all kinds of problems around here.

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    glad to help :)

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    totally agree, the voices are impossible to both obey at the same time. in a way, that's good … then the only way to win is to not play their game.

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    I always go out for coffee – it's both coffee plus my morning walk – so helps me to get motivated to finish if I know I have that reward. :)

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    And isn't that always the thing? The secret to writing is to just write exactly what's going on, exactly who is speaking.

    Maybe there is a story there, where each of the characters in my brain has their own out loud voice. Hum.

  • http://www.care2.com/causes/trailblazers/ Sue Anne Reed

    I need to find a time to write every day. I’m a creature of habit. It’s one of my best and my worst traits. Once I’m on a roll with something, I keep going. But, it’s hard to get on that roll. Mornings don’t work for me. Often mornings are the time I most struggle with my physical pain issues and just putting those aside and getting out of bed is a challenge. But, I do need to find a time and start making it a habit.

    Thanks for this post. I do think we all have that negative person in our brain trying to shut us down.

  • seagirl

    You could pull a Havi (Fluent Self) and write about a little meeting between The Bitch In The Corner and The Resistance Monster. I can already picture it. The BITC is played by Joan Collins, and the other one is Glenda, The Good Witch.

  • http://twitter.com/julianowebpages Bret Juliano

    The internet is resistance monster, or at least the distraction monster.

    Thanks for the article, I definitely can relate and actually I have been doing the same thing with my blog posts recently. I put them off for longer than I should and was told by a friend that I was expected to publish a new post this week, and within 24 hours of that message I had a great new blog post up….it went up this morning in fact.

  • http://www.sueannereed.com Sue Anne Reed

    I need to find a time to write every day. I'm a creature of habit. It's one of my best and my worst traits. Once I'm on a roll with something, I keep going. But, it's hard to get on that roll. Mornings don't work for me. Often mornings are the time I most struggle with my physical pain issues and just putting those aside and getting out of bed is a challenge. But, I do need to find a time and start making it a habit.

    Thanks for this post. I do think we all have that negative person in our brain trying to shut us down.

  • http://www.bundlesofenergy.com Jenn Champagne

    Love it and I think I shall join you on this 60 day challenge!

  • http://www.bundlesofenergy.com Jenn Champagne

    Love it and I think I shall join you on this 60 day challenge!

  • http://www.randomshelly.com/blog/ Shelly

    Dance, seduce and write her… HELL YES… Don’t keep her in the corner, she’ll just look at you with daggers… engage her and use her and take her power away. YES

  • http://www.randomshelly.com/blog/ Shelly

    Dance, seduce and write her… HELL YES… Don't keep her in the corner, she'll just look at you with daggers… engage her and use her and take her power away. YES

  • http://lisahines.com/ Lisa Hines

    My resistance monster just popped out regarding me commenting. You see, I made a promise to read and comment on blogs during the week – kind of like the “building the tribe” thing, but moreso to practice writing more.

    So, anyways, she was just out and said, “you don’t have to post a comment. Nobody will even know you were here, and I won’t tell.” LOL. Seems that my resistance monster is friends with yours.

    So, here I am writing. Cheers!

  • http://twitter.com/LisaMHines Lisa Hines

    My resistance monster just popped out regarding me commenting. You see, I made a promise to read and comment on blogs during the week – kind of like the “building the tribe” thing, but moreso to practice writing more.

    So, anyways, she was just out and said, “you don't have to post a comment. Nobody will even know you were here, and I won't tell.” LOL. Seems that my resistance monster is friends with yours.

    So, here I am writing. Cheers!

  • BonnieHutchinson

    Elizabeth, I am in awe! Thanks for sharing all that you share — including the bitch in the corner and the the resistance monster. Yep, they are definitely part of what comes after “The Moment”… maybe like when a chick is breaking out of its shell, it really does have to break through the shell in order to live. I have succumbed to both the bitch and the monster, more often than not, but you give me hope that at least I can change the odds. Thanks!

  • BonnieHutchinson

    Elizabeth, I am in awe! Thanks for sharing all that you share — including the bitch in the corner and the the resistance monster. Yep, they are definitely part of what comes after “The Moment”… maybe like when a chick is breaking out of its shell, it really does have to break through the shell in order to live. I have succumbed to both the bitch and the monster, more often than not, but you give me hope that at least I can change the odds. Thanks!