Action is the Antidote

It was a Tuesday when I nearly lost my mind.

I'm in a car that goes criminally fast down the highway. I always go for a ride when my thoughts drive me nuts. Instead of like the car going in a straight line, my mind goes in carousels. Round and round, it's replaying the same scenarios again and again. I'm reminded that the worst torturer in our lives sits right behind our foreheads (if you don't break its control over you, but that's a topic for another day). It asks the same question over and over again: "what should I do with my life?". This question, I realize, is one of the more ironic ones. It asks what action to take, but by asking it, it hinders you from taking any action at all.

The car is now going faster and faster, until finally I remember that I am a mortal and would fare rather badly against a wall when going over 100 kilometers an hour. My foot hits the brake – and my prefrontal cortex finally does the same to the thought vomiting that's taking place in my mind.

By slowing down, I'm able to take a step back and see my problem from another perspective. I can now see where my true problem lies. By always asking "what should I do with my life?" you don't do anything at all. That leads to procrastination, usually in the form of distraction. Distractions steal your life away, and the worst part about it is that you are not only the robbed, but also the thief. Even though this might be a somber realization, it also gives you immense power. Because you are also the perpetrator, you have agency beyond belief to intercept the loop. You don't just have the power to stop the cycle – you can break the wheel. And the antidote to the poison that is procrastination is action.

The first step in taking action is to realize what patterns you have when it comes to procrastination. Realization is the first step toward an improvement. You're suddenly aware of something that was already there. Like seeing the car that was in your blindspot that suddenly emerges into your visual field. After seeing our enemy, we can attack it. I can't identify this enemy any better than Steven Pressfield did in his book "The War Of Art": The Resistance.

According to Pressfield, The Resistance is a primal force that resides in our mind. Its main goal is to stop us from pursuing what we really want in the form of overthinking, procrastination, and self-destructive behavior. It's the one force that holds many artists back from creating their best work by stopping them from beginning in the first place.

You might think "I'm not an artist! The Resistance isn't my adversary!". You are so very wrong. If you don't like the word "artist", then use "creator". If you don't see yourself as a creator, then simply use the word "person", because The Resistance lives in us all. Every time you know you should do something but don't – that's the very real Resistance. Time to learn how to overcome it.

Here is what you have to do: whenever you want to procrastinate, take action.

It sounds simple, and it is (most great things are). But this doesn't mean it's also easy.

Just like in the gym, taking action when you want to procrastinate or distract yourself is like a biceps curl for your mind. Your prefrontal cortex (similar to what happens during a meditation practice) gets stronger. If this is still too woo woo for you, it will make you happy that this technique is backed up by the newest neuroscience research.

Contrary to popular belief, our brains don't become interchangeable after a certain age. They remain plastic (meaning the ability to change themselves) throughout our life. Every time you beat The Resistance's ass – picking up that brush, writing on that book, launching that business, working on that project – its grip on you doesn't just loosen, our grip on it becomes stronger.

Every time you overcome The Resistance, you absorb its power.
– Steven Pressfield in "The War Of Art"

"But Tommy", I hear you say, "what if what I create sucks?" It doesn't matter if the end result is bad, decent, good or great. It's all about building that action-taking habit. Not the first couple of creations, but the mindset we're building will pay massive dividends in the long-run – and if you think that's already powerful, wait until that momentum starts compounding in everything you do.

Take action, and you will see what's true: The Resistance has nothing on you.