“Where there is a Dream, there is Resistance. Thus: where we encounter Resistance, somewhere nearby is a Dream.” ~Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

I have a huge impostor confession to make.

This one was big and it’s embarrassing to admit to you… You should know that as I was recording it in my mini recording studio, in my bedroom closet, I could feel the blood rushing to my face and my sweat glands kicking in.

This episode was inspired by my conversation in Episode 10 about authenticity and learning to trust yourself with psychotherapist, musician and one of my mentors, Ellen Katz.

Listen to my conversation with Ellen “Radha” Katz here!

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“Every day, every creation involves a certain amount of struggle for me. And the struggle really is in committing, just sitting down to do the work and trusting the process. Once I jump that hurdle, the rest is flow.” ~Andrea Klunder

You should also know that before sitting down to write the notes for this episode and scripting what I wanted to say, I allowed nearly 7 days to go by after the original idea for the topic came into my head, and on THE day that I determined I absolutely MUST write it…

• I watched an hour of educational programming on business and branding on CreativeLive.com, 
• I listened to 4 episodes of one of my new favorite podcasts, Strangers with Lea Thau, 
• I spent 30minutes researching “urban chic business fashion” on Pinterest, 
• I cleaned out my email inbox
• I mapped an entire new strategy for my AndreaKlunder.com website (but held myself back from logging in and actually implementing it)
• I made 2 different pots of tea (one black and one herbal), took one shower and did 1 carefully sorted load of laundry.

And then… by 6:30pm, I was ready to write my episode (and even in that moment, my fingers desperately wanted to type netflix.com into my web browser instead).

So what the HECK is that about?

Well. It’s a little friend I like to call “resistance.”

Have you ever felt that? 

The feeling of inertia when you know you need to do something, and you just can’t.

And I’m not talking about having that conversation you’re dreading, doing your taxes, or even going to the grocery store on a Sunday afternoon. I’m talking about something you actually WANT to do, that you enjoy doing, and that you know will have a positive net outcome. And yet, you find yourself doing everything imaginable under the sun except THAT.

I think clearly this feeling of resistance is what leads to procrastination (which I talked about in Episode 5) and procrastination stems from perfectionism, one of my favorite symptoms of impostor syndrome.

But In my conversation with psychotherapist Ellen Katz in Episode 10, Ellen said…

“You’re not an impostor if you’re doing what you love.” ~Ellen Katz

So, if I love writing and I love podcasting and I love thinking about the topic of impostor syndrome and coming up with creative ways to share my own experiences in a way that I think will help you, then WHY couldn’t I bring myself to sit down and do it?

Listen to this episode to find out AND hear my big impostor confession!

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I wonder if it ever gets any easier, if resistance can be overcome or defeated with time, consistency, momentum, and experience.

Will I ever be able to create something with full confidence that my work is good, and that it’s valuable to someone else?

Or is the dragon of resistance always lurking just around the corner for the creative professional? 

In fact, I’d love to hear from YOU! Does this challenge resonate with you? Do you come up against resistance when you have something you want to create? 

Or have you reached that idyllic state of perpetual flow that I dream of where you have an idea, you map it out clearly and then you create it with ease? 

Send me a voicemail and tell me a story about a time when resistance came up for you or how you’ve learned to slay it!

Just click the tab on the right of the screen. A little window will pop up and once you hit record, you can leave me a 90 second message that I can include on a future episode of the creative impostor. Include your name, business and website if you have one or you can just say you’d like it to be an anonymous story.

And if voicemail isn’t really your thing, you can also email me by clicking the contact page.

Links from the episode:

Procrastination & Perfectionism: The Creative Impostor Episode #5 

Money: The Creative Impostor Episode #7

Ask your inner wise person with Ellen Katz: Episode #10

Steven Pressfield – The War of Art

The Accidental Creative podcast with Todd Henry

She Podcasts Facebook Group

CreativeLive.com

Strangers Podcast with Lea Thau

 

Our first Creative Space Travel Retreat to New Orleans is in the works! Get the inside scoop…

 

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My How to Start e-course is designed to help you take those first few bold steps on your creative path no matter what! Truly, I’ve taken all the wisdom from my podcast guests, past teachers and a whole lot of experience with failure AND success. Coming soon…

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This episode was mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz of Mondo Machine.
The Creative Impostor theme music was created by JoVia Armstrong.

I want to hear from you. If you’re listening in iTunes, PLEASE leave a review. It’s how iTunes decides which shows people find when they are searching for specific topics like this one.

Also send me a message! What do you think so far? What’s your greatest impostor moment? Email your written comments or leave a voicemail using SpeakPipe — and when you do, I just may read the message or play your voice on a future episode.