Summary of Steven Pressfield's The War of Art is a book dedicated to helping writers and other artists overcome creative barriers and produce valuable and satisfying work. Pressfield discusses his own artistic struggles and uses examples of artists throughout history in order to inspire and guide other creators.
The biggest barrier to artistic creation is Resistance. Resistance is a negative energy that intercedes whenever a person attempts to achieve a positive goal, such as painting a picture, exercising, or making a life change. Resistance is a combination of self-doubt, self-deception, fear of change, and fear of success.
On a day-to-day basis, Resistance is expressed as procrastination, as when an artist cleans the house, gets a snack, or does anything rather than sit down to work. On a larger scale, Resistance can mean that an artist abandons his or her profession, or denies his or her creative dreams…
