The Life Unlived

Steven Pressfield’s, The War of Art is one of my favorite books. Here’s one passage that I re-read often:

Most of us have two lives.

The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance. Have you ever brought home a treadmill and let it gather dust in the attic? Ever quit a diet, a course of yoga, a meditation practice? Have you ever bailed out on a call to embark upon a spiritual practice, dedicate yourself to a humanitarian calling, commit your life to the service of others? Have you ever wanted to be a mother, a doctor, an advocate for the weak and helpless; to run for office, crusade for the planet, campaign for world peace, or to preserve the environment? Late at night have you experienced a vision of the person you might become, the work you could accomplish, the realized being you were meant to be? Are you a writer who doesn’t write, a painter who doesn’t paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what Resistance is.

Getting started is tough. Whether that be starting a blog, working on a startup idea, or organizing a writing group.

Yet, every time I’ve faced the resistance it’s lead to amazing things.

I know this, I’ve experienced it first hand, but the resistance doesn’t go away.

Reading this passage is a reminder to myself, that if not now, when?