February 14, 2025
“The hours we spend talking about writing is time we don’t spend actually doing it.” - Stephen King
Steven Pressfield wrote for 27 years before publishing his first book, The Legend of Bagger Vance, at the age of 52. During those 27 years, he was an odd-job-working, floundering creative who did whatever he could to skate by while working on novel after novel. He wrote advertisements in New York City and screenplays in Hollywood. He picked apples, drove tractor-trailers, and worked on offshore oil rigs. The lessons he learned from nearly three decades of living the unpublished-author life accrued.
The greatest lesson he learned was the prevalence of Resistance; the force that prevents us from doing the work that we need to do. For whatever reason (fear, self-doubt, or artificial busyness), we don’t do the things we want to do, even when we want to do them. Resistance stands between every person and the things they wish to accomplish.
Resistance drives procrastination.
Procrastination is a game of momentum. It begins as a sin of omission; it is difficult to overcome Resistance, so we delay doing our work. A habit of procrastinating can form quickly. Steven Pressfield writes, “the most pernicious aspect of procrastination is that it can become a habit. We don’t just put off our lives today; we put them off till our deathbed.” Chronic procrastination in one aspect of your work can bleed into others, creating an overwhelmed, never-get-anything-important-done lifestyle. And the more we procrastinate, the more momentum our procrastination lifestyle gains, and the harder it becomes to reverse.
A level-one approach to overcoming procrastination is external motivation.
“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” - Benjamin Franklin (or Thomas Jefferson, or Mark Twain. Who knows?).
“No idea is so big that you can’t take the first step.” - James Altucher
“Can’t stop the spirits when they need you. This life is more than just a read-through” - Red Hot Chili Peppers
External motivation is an inspirational push in some direction. It is Led Zeppelin blasting at the gym, likes on Instagram, and Dillon G’s finger traps in Dan Erickson’s Severance. Deadlines, rewards, social pressure, and inspiring words all lie under the umbrella of external motivation. These pushes can provide energy to help overcome procrastination and get us moving in the right direction, but they are insufficient on their own.
The next level of overcoming procrastination is internal motivation. Internal motivation beats external motivation in the long run. External motivation pushes us to action from without. Internal motivation pulls us to action from within. Internal motivation comes from passion, enjoyment, and fulfillment. No one has to incentivize Arnold Schwarzenegger to go to the gym or Jack White to play his guitar. Internal motivation can be tapped into by doing work that you find meaningful and attaching work to fulfilling long-term goals.*
*This is the topic of the book Drive by Daniel Pink. If you want to learn more about internal motivation, read his book.
Even the most passionate player doesn’t love the game every day. Internal motivation fails us when the work we are doing doesn’t feel fulfilling or engaging. The only effective way to overcome procrastination in the long term is discipline. Discipline is the direct antithesis of procrastination. If procrastination is a downward spiral to hell, then discipline is an upward spiral to heaven (pardon the drama). Just like procrastination, discipline starts small and gets easier over time.
Steven Pressfield calls this discipline Turning Pro.
Amateurs talk about doing work; pros work.
Amateurs wait for inspiration to strike; pros work until inspiration arrives.
Amateurs are procrastinators; pros are disciplined.
“Resistance is like a telemarketer; if you so much as say hello, you’re finished. The pro doesn’t even pick up the phone. He stays at work.”
The first hurdle standing between you and doing your work is procrastination. You overcome procrastination through discipline. Do what you need to to build a habit of doing your work and your power to overcome procrastination will increase. This is as true for writers and entrepreneurs as it is for athletes and homemakers. Develop the discipline of doing your work.
After Steven Pressfield published his first book, the gloves were off. In the thirty years since publishing The Legend of Bagger Vance, Steven Pressfield has written and published twenty-plus books and sold millions of copies of them. And because he is a pro, he is still doing his work.
“Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. There never was a moment, and never will be, when we are without the power to alter our destiny. This second, we can turn the tables on Resistance. This second, we can sit down and do our work.” - Steven Pressfield
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