Overcoming Resistance

Quote of the day:

Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do.

Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.

Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That’s why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there’d be no Resistance.”
― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles

Sunrise Shot at Laupahoehoe Beach Park

I have wanted to make sunrise photos at Laupahoehoe Point north of Hilo since I first discovered the beach park. Like many beach parks in Hawaii, it is nestled at the bottom of steep hills, down a narrow curving road. From the highway above, it takes about 10 minutes to reach the beach below.

For the roads in Hawaii, the road to Laupahoehoe Beach is quite good. It wide enough around the curves for two cars to meet (if they’re driving slowly and carefully) and it is paved all the way. The park itself has a shelter area and very nice facilities.

So why has it taken me six weeks to finally get there for a sunrise shoot. Here are some of my fears and reasons not to go:

I’d have to get up so early to get there before sunrise (can you hear the whine in my voice when I say this?)
I’ll have to drive there in the dark – I don’t like driving on the curving up and down roads here in the dark.
I’m a little nervous about going to the beach all alone that early in the morning.
The weather is so uncertain, it will probably be cloudy at sunrise anyway.

This is the form that my resistance often takes — fear of discomfort, fear of the unknown, fear of the dark, and laziness.

Today I woke up early. It was 4:45 AM and I could see the stars shining in the sky. That meant that at least part of the sky was clear and I had a pretty good chance of seeing some interesting light at sunrise.

Still I lingered in bed with the following dialog running in my head: “It’s a bit chilly this morning. Wow, it’s dark out there. Do I really want to do this? Maybe I should wait. I really don’t like driving in the dark down those steep curving roads. Come on, do I want to do this or not? Well, maybe I’ll get up and see how I feel. If not now, when?”

Finally I pushed through all the resistance, got up and dressed, and took a deep breath, got in the car, and drove north to the beach. It was dark and humid and my windshield started steaming up. When I tried to turn on the air conditioner to dry out the air, I accidentally hit the hazard flashers button. So suddenly my hazard lights were flashing. “What the heck?” I exclaimed. I managed to turn off the hazard lights and get the defroster going. One good thing, the truck that had tail-gated me for miles backed off after the little hazard lights fiasco.

When I arrived at the park I could see several cars at the park and a couple of tent campers. “Good,” I thought, “there are people around.” While I waited for enough light to hike out to the beach and start making photos, I star-gazed. Lovely !

At first light I grabbed my tripod and headed to the beach. I had shot one photo when a man appeared beside me. “Do you mind talking?” he asked. I figured he was curious so we chatted while I shot pictures, with him asking lots of questions about my camera and digital photography.

I was having difficulty concentrating so I moved off and continued to make photos. Before long there were several people wandering the beach (some of the campers had awakened). The light was amazing, the breeze off the ocean so gentle in the early morning air, the crashing waves so awesome. What’s not to love about sunrise photography?

Am I glad I pushed through my resistance today? You bet! Do I always manage to push through? No way! Being aware of resistance and having the inner resources to push through it are two different things. I look at it this way. Each small step is a victory. Each setback an opportunity for learning.

Is resistance keeping you from working on your art? Make one small step, then another.