The War of Art and Overcoming Resistance
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD="width: 421"]
The War of Art and Overcoming Resistance
BY TIM SCHMIDT - USCCA FOUNDER
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][TABLE="align: right"]
[TR]
[TD]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Maybe it's just me — or maybe it's the current -13 degree windchill — but I happen to think it's been pretty brutal in Wisconsin so far this winter. (I suppose it could also be that I'm coming off the "high" of SHOT Show in Las Vegas, where the temps were likewise well above freezing.)
There is an upside, though, to the biting cold and to spending so much time indoors: a little extra time to read. My dad used to tell me, "Tim, you'll be the same person five years from now as you are today except for two things: the people you spend time with and the books you read." I'm pretty sure he read that quote somewhere, but the idea stuck: Reading was — and still is — a huge part of my life.
I recently had the chance to revisit The War of Art, a short and powerful little book by Steven Pressfield. In it, Pressfield introduces the idea of Resistance. (Yes, that's with a capital "R.")
He writes, "Resistance cannot be seen, touched, heard or smelled. But it can be felt. We experience it as an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential. It's a repelling force. It's negative. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work."
There was a time, back in 2013, when I really struggled with Resistance. Writing emails — especially this Concealed Carry Report — had become a bit of a roadblock for me. There came a point when I was putting off all that writing until the very last hour.
Luckily, The War of Art really put things into perspective for me. As it turned out, Resistance with a capital "R" was trying to sabotage my productivity!
And so I set aside an hour. I grabbed some coffee. I sat down at my desk. I turned off my cell phone. And I got to work. I plucked away at my keyboard, just a few words at first. The words turned into sentences, and then paragraphs. Some of it was bad. But some of it wasn't. I kept at it, feeling the momentum grow with every keystroke. And, before I knew it, two hours had passed. And I had finished almost all of the writing I needed to do for the entire week.
This idea of Resistance eventually inspired me to implement what I refer to as "Focus Time" here at the USCCA. I've made some minor adjustments over the years — I now call it "Focus Time 2.0" — but the principle remains the same:
I simply set aside a chunk of time and get to work.
No meetings. No phone calls. No dropping by people's desks to ask questions.
In other words, there are NO distractions during Focus Time 2.0. I have to send my emails and say my good mornings and fill up my coffee cup before my two-hour focus time starts. It sounds crazy, but it's amazing what this uninterrupted time and focus has done for my productivity.
I can personally attest to the fact that I get a heck of a lot done when I consciously and consistently set aside this time. In fact, there are some days (I might even venture to say most days) when I get more done in those two hours than I do for the whole rest of the day! Morning works best for me, but you can put aside time whenever you want … as long as you actually do it.
Maybe it's a bit of a stretch, but keep in mind that Resistance doesn't just affect your work. Resistance doesn't want you to hone your shooting skills. Resistance could care less about your family's safety.
Keep in mind also that the key to kicking Resistance to the curb is to simply sit down (or stand up or go inside or go outside) and get to work.
Thus, you don't have to spend all day studying gun laws or reading Concealed Carry Magazine to stay informed — although certainly do the latter if you're so inclined. 
And you don't have to spend all day at the range to keep yourself sharp. Schedule a few hours for yourself, and stay focused. I think you'll be amazed at what you'll discover about yourself and what you're capable of in just a short amount of time each day.
I promise you'll be better/smarter/stronger/safer for it.
Take Care and Stay Safe, 
Tim Schmidt
Publisher - Concealed Carry Report
USCCA Founder
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]