Resistance, Cold Water, What is you Gift?

In this newsletter:
- Resistance
- Steven Pressfield
- Orchestras, Recipes, and Asset Allocation 
- Cold water therapy
- Pot and Yoga
- Beach party research trip

Resistance 

“How many of us have become drunks and drug addicts, developed tumors and neuroses, succumbed to painkillers, gossip, and compulsive cell-phone use, simply because we don’t do that thing that our hearts, our inner genius, is calling us to? Resistance defeats us. If tomorrow morning by some stroke of magic every dazed and benighted soul woke up with the power to take the first step toward pursuing his or her dreams, every shrink in the directory would be out of business. Prisons would stand empty. The alcohol and tobacco industries would collapse, along with junk food, and cosmetic surgery businesses…”

“Are you a writer who doesn’t write, a painter who doesn’t paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what Resistance is.”

“Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It is the root of more unhappiness than poverty, disease, and erectile dysfunction. To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit…it prevents us from achieving the life God intended when He endowed each of us with our own unique genius.”

- Steven  Pressfield, The War of Art 

Steven Pressfield is one of my heroes. He wrote The War of Art in 2002. 

Not to be confused with The Art of War by Sun Tzu (771-256 BC), the legendary military general, strategist, and philosopher. 

Two war books. One is about the war we fight against ourselves. The other, about the war we fight against others.  

One is focused inwards. The other is focused outwards.

As much as we want to believe our battles lie outside of us, the reality is the biggest battles we fight are the ones within us.

Both battles can kill us. 

Steven Pressfield

Steven Pressfield is an American author of a variety of works.

But his journey was no joy ride. He talks about the painful process of overcoming his own Resistance in The War of Art.

His first book, The Legend of Bagger Vance: A Novel of Golf and the Game of Life (1996), was adapted into the 2000 film of the same name. It’s a sports film directed by Robert Redford, and stars Will Smith, Matt Damon and Charlize Theron.

His second novel, Gates of Fire (1998), is about the Spartans and the battle at Thermopylae. It’s been a part of the curriculum at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), the U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis), and the Marine Corps, The Basic School.

His list of books goes on from there…..

I like his genuine, direct, no bullshit advice for artists and entrepreneurs.

I have never met him in person but my sense is he's one of the most down-to-earth people around. Salt of the earth. 

You'll see what I mean if you watch one of his Steven Pressfield - YouTube videos.

He is a welcome relief in a world of social media hot shots in private jets and a gazillion butt-exercise videos.

I like Pressfield for his honesty.  

He writes:
“There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is this: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance…Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”

“You know, Hitler wanted to be an artist. At eighteen he took his inheritance, seven hundred kronen, and moved to Vienna to live and study. He applied to the Academy of Fine Arts and later to the School of Architecture. Ever see one of his paintings? Neither have I. Resistance beat him. Call it overstatement but I’ll say it anyway: it was easier for Hitler to start World War II than it was for him to face a blank square of canvas.”

The War of Art talks about Resistance: where it arises, its characteristics and symptoms, how to combat it, and how it fits in the higher realm.

Here are some thoughts from the book. 

Activities that elicit Resistance

- The pursuit of writing, painting, music, film, dance
- Starting any entrepreneurial venture
- A diet or health routine
- Spiritual advancement
- Overcoming unhealthy habits or addiction
- Commitment of the heart like marriage, having children, weathering a rocky relationship
- Acts that reject immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity
- Any act that comes from our higher nature

Characteristics of Resistance

- It’s invisible – it’s an energy field, a repelling force, it’s negative, it prevents us from doing our work

- It’s internal – it arises from within, it’s self-generated, self-perpetuated. It’s the enemy within

- It’s insidious – it’s subtle, deadly, and it will fabricate, falsify, seduce, bully, cajole. “It’s full of shit”

- It’s implacable – it can’t be appeased, it's an engine of destruction, its objective is to prevent us from doing our work

- It’s infallible – the more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we feel

- It’s universal – everyone experiences Resistance

- Its aim is to kill – it targets our genius, our soul, the unique gift we have that no else has but us

- It’s fueled by fear – all its juice comes from us, we feed it with our fear

Symptoms of Resistance

- Procrastination - the most common manifestation of Resistance

- Sex – "as well as alcohol, drugs, shopping, TV, gossip, junk food"

- Trouble - It's a cheap way to get attention

- Self-dramatization - like creating soap operas in our lives

- Self-medication
“Attention Deficit Disorder, Seasonal Affect Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder. These aren’t diseases, they’re marketing ploys. Doctors didn’t discover them, copywriters did. Marketing departments did. Drug companies did. Depression and anxiety may be real. But they can also be Resistance. When we drug ourselves to blot out our soul’s call, we are being good Americans and exemplary consumers. We’re doing exactly what TV commercials and pop materialist culture have been brainwashing us to do from birth. Instead of applying self-knowledge, self-discipline, delated gratification, and hard work, we simply consume a product.”

- Victimhood – “Casting yourself as a victim is the antithesis of doing your work. Don’t do it. If you’re doing it, stop.”

- Unhappiness - "A low-grade misery pervades everything. We're bored, we're restless. We can't get no satisfaction." 

- Fundamentalism
“Fundamentalism is the philosophy of the powerless, the conquered, the displaced and the dispossessed. The fundamentalist cannot stand freedom. He cannot find his way into the future. Socrates demonstrated long ago, that the truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery. While those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern over them.”

- Criticism - "Individuals who are realized in their own lives almost never criticize others."

- Fear and self-doubt
“The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it. 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…Actors will take on roles they are afraid of. The professional tackles the project that will make him stretch. He takes on the assignment that will bear him into uncharted waters, compel him to explore unconscious parts of himself…So if you’re paralyzed with fear, it’s a good sign. It shows you what you have to do.”

- Healing
He talks about places people can go to find “healing” (he mentions Santa Fe, NM and Santa Barbara, CA and Ojai, CA). They are “populated by upper-middle-class people with more time and money than they know what to do with…The concept in all these environments seems to be that one needs to complete his healing before he is ready to do his work.” He says healing has nothing to do with our work and can be a “colossal exercise in Resistance.” The more energy we expend dredging boring injustices of our personal lives, the less energy we have to do our work.”

The case for considering your own unique gift

I've thought a lot about the implications of the possibility that each of us possesses a "unique gift."

My thinking is this: if we can agree that no two humans are identical, then it follows that each of us is unique. If each of us is unique, then it's possible each of us has at least one attribute that no one else possesses. A unique attribute.

Our planet earth is filled with examples of how unique attributes contribute to the greater whole.

Think of a recipe – each ingredient is a unique element, a unique taste; each ingredient contributes to the taste of the whole dish. 

Or think of an orchestra – each instrument has a unique sound, it contributes to the whole symphony.

The violin, viola, cello, flute, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, tuba, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, etc. 

Or think of an investment portfolio – because each asset has its own unique risk/return attributes, it contributes to the performance of the whole portfolio.

Stocks (equities), bonds (fixed income), hedge funds, venture capital, real estate, commodities, etc. each provide different risk/return profiles.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

Having uniqueness enables us to contribute some attribute to our families, communities, businesses, or whatever, that no one else can offer. 

Perhaps the world be a better place if we all uncovered our unique gifts, similar to the way a recipe, orchestra, or portfolio of investments derives from its disparate parts. 

We might even have a spiritual, cosmic, or eternal duty to express our unique gift. And it need not be paraded around and announced to the world. It could be subtle and private. 

What is your gift? I think we owe it to ourselves to ponder this question. 

I believe Well-Being is linked to this question; our Well-Being improves when we align with our uniqueness, our gift, our Purpose.

As Steven Pressfield said, we are born already possessing a refined and individuated soul. We’re not born with unlimited choices. We can’t be anything we want to be. “Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.”

Cold Water Immersion

Speaking of Resistance, here's an idea I resisted at first. 

Over ten years ago, I started hearing credible voices promote cold-water therapy as a complement to healthy living.

Then around five years ago, the voices grew louder. My son and friends talked about it while more studies supported the health benefits of cold water.

For almost five years now, I begin every day with a cold shower. The benefits are amazing. It's part of my daily routine.

Cold-water immersion, cold-water therapy, ice baths, cold plunges, etc. are growing fast in popularity.

The yoga studio near my house, Hanu, recently added a cold plunge facility. The temperature was 43 degrees when I took the plunge. I did it for four minutes. It's a mind game. 

Two months ago, I joined a new gym here in South Beach, Anatomy. One of the reasons I joined was for their brand new "Wellness Sanctuary," where they have cold plunges (as well has hot plunges, saunas, and steam rooms). 

Cold-water therapy involves submerging the body in cold water for a period of time, usually minutes (one to five minutes, or longer).

In my view, the evidence is now overwhelmingly in favor of cold-water treatment. Plenty of research studies reveal a variety of health benefits.

Potential benefits of cold-water immersion 

- Boosted immunity function

- Increased energy and mental clarity

- Improved mood; less stress, depression, and anxiety

- Improved circulation

- Pain relief

- Reduced inflammation

- Enhanced muscle recovery

- Increased metabolism

- Enhanced skin and hair health 

Same trend as marijuana and yoga

To me, the growing popularity of cold water therapy is reminiscent of the trends we have seen in yoga and marijuana.

Legalization and destigmatization of marijuana have led to a proliferation of dispensaries, for both medicinal and recreational users.

Yoga has become popular as a fitness complement or alternative to running, swimming, weightlifting, etc.

Yoga and marijuana were once fringe activities but are now mainstream.

My sense is cold-water therapy will see a similar trajectory as yoga and pot.

More cold-water immersion centers will pop up where people can go for ice bath treatments, cold plunges, etc. as they align with trends in alternative wellness. 

Marijuana trends

Here's a chart of Americans support for marijuana over time. Even the last ten years saw a dramatic increase in popularity (from 50% to 70%).

If you're curious, Wikipedia has some updated statistics on the legality of cannabis in each of the U.S. states. 

Yoga trends

Here's a chart of the growth of yoga and pilates studios in the U.S. over the last ten years or so (from 24,000 studios to 48,000). 

I found this chart here: Zippia.

Go ahead, take the cold plunge.

Don't let Resistance beat you.

Maybe it will help you discover your unique gift. 

Lastly, I'll be taking a week off from writing and back at my desk March 3rd.

We are heading out to research some Caribbean beach parties. 😎 🍹

Thank you for reading! 

Be well,

Peter Pavlina