There’s a person I’ve very close to. But every time I tell him about my biggest dreams, he calmly explains why they are impossible.

It’s gone to the point where I don’t tell him what I’m up to until after I’ve done it.

This is normal.

In the War of Art, Steven Pressfield warns about an eternal force of nature. Pressfield calls it “The Resistance,” and this force will stop you from doing any kind of creative work.

When you’re on an adventure, working on transforming yourself, you are creative by default.

You are going to encounter this dragon many times.

The Resistance will turn your family, friends, and society against you.

Most of the time, the Resistance will show up as good people who mean well. They will urge you to be practical. They will beg you to play it safe.

Sometimes, the Resistance will come out as open hostility.

But the people who try to talk you out of your dreams aren’t your biggest problem. Your worst critic is yourself.

The Resistance is not you, but it lurks inside you.

It will try to persuade you, cajole you, seduce you, trick you, intimidate and terrify you to stop you from taking your journey.

Fear, guilt, embarrassment, imposter syndrome—all of these are just different faces of the Resistance.

One of the best ways to fight it is to turn those negative feelings into your allies. So let’s start by looking at the most common weapon the Resistance uses against you.

The Catapults

When you have the audacity to do something original and meaningful that’s going to transform you and change the world, you’re in trouble.

A dozen catapults are wheeling into position to launch boulders at you. These boulders have terrifying curses engraved on their surfaces. Let me share a few examples of these curses:

•  You’re way too young/too old to be doing this.

• Can you do this with your bad knees?

• You only have enough savings to get through the next three months.

• That good-looking person is out of your league.

•  Nobody has ever wanted to read a book about ________.

• You’ll stutter as soon as you get in front of an audience.

• You don’t even know where to find a manufacturer.

• Nobody has ever heard of you.

• It’s going to take a year of study before you can even start.

• ____________ (add a few of your own)

 Any of one these heavy stones could knock you flat to the ground, break a limb, or even squash you into blob of tasty almond butter.

And you’re about to get pelted.

Every person you know could potentially be working a catapult, even if they genuinely wish you well.

And as you know, the catapults lurking inside your own head can hurl the largest boulders of all.

Fortunately, there’s a simple way to deal with all those stones whizzing through the air.

Reassessing the rocks

One thing these boulders have in common, the one thing which makes them so hard and heavy, is their nature.

They are either complete illusions or indisputable facts.

Once you recognize this, remember that facts are completely neutral. Your interpretation of a fact is everything.

If you “only” have three months of savings, then you don’t have to worry about paying the bills for three months.

If you can reduce your cost of living or secure a small, temporary source of income, then you can extend your savings.

You literally have months to pursue your dream full-time. And that’s a fact.

If you have a physical limitation, part of the adventure will be correcting it or working around it. And that’s a fact.

If you’re lacking knowledge or resources, there are many ways to find these. And that’s a fact.

(The harder it is to get started, the harder it will be for someone to copy or steal your idea. That’s also a fact.)

If nobody has ever done what you’re doing, then you’re a pioneer in your field, a true leader, and you’re about to shake up the status quo. That’s a fact.

Cognitive Reframing

Psychologists have a term, cognitive reframing, which describes exactly what you just did.

Now, let’s look at those boulders from a new perspective.

When you reassess the facts, those boulders aren’t whizzing maliciously towards your head anymore. They’re just neutral facts, resting on the ground, solid but stationary.

The boulders are still obstacles in your path, but now you can climb over them, go around them, even push some of them aside.

You still have to navigate this boulder field, but it’s doable. And that’s a fact.

You can work with facts.

Tools and Talismans

• The 12 Best Personal Development Books (according to Success magazine)

• Lisa Nichols teaches you to be more creative! This woman played a big part inspiring me to start this newsletter

• Change Your Thinking in 4 Steps. I’ve done this several times. It works!