If you’ve been avoiding doing a task for a while, or know you have a lot of resistance around it, you need to do something that can really break you free from the things that are holding you back from getting it done.
There are 6 ways that have worked for me to overcome resistance. If you’ve ever felt like you’ve been in the resistance roundabout and that it’s stopped you from building the sustainable art practice you’d like, this is for you.
How Do You Succeed in Art Business?
There are many things you can do to have a successful art business like having a business plan and an outreach plan. However, the thing that will help the most is to learn to overcome resistance to doing tasks that you don’t like.
Resistance can come up when you're not sure how to do something like sending an invoice for an art commission. Or it can happen when there’s a task that doesn’t bring a lot of joy like updating your website or pricing your art.
If you don’t do some of these kinds of mundane or not-so-joyful tasks, you’ll limit what you can do with your art practice. You’ll also restrict the impact that your art brings to others and cap how much income you’ll be able to make with your creativity.
How Do You Resolve Resistance in Your Art Practice?
Just like you have a set of tools you use to make your art, like several kinds of paint brushes and a palette with a variety of colors, to resolve resistance, you set yourself up with a set of tools that you can put to use when you start to feel the resistance settling in.
This will break off the scary vibes around it and allow you to overcome resistance. To create the follow through and get past feeling frozen with not wanting to do a certain task, it helps to set yourself up for it ahead of time.
Resistance Busters:
1. Get clear on WHY you WANT to do this thing.
Note, this is not why you need to do it, but want to do it. Why will it be awesome when this thing is done? Getting clear on the bigger reasons behind why doing this task or taking a certain action is great helps to lessen the resistance to doing the work. And it helps you to truly commit to moving through the resistance you feel around this task.
For example, if you send that invoice, even if you’re not totally confident in your price point, you’ll get paid faster. And, getting money into your bank account sooner means you can pay your bills, or buy more art supplies.
2. Do it early in the morning.
Doing a task you’ve been resisting first thing in the day means it’ll get done. It also means it’s easier to do because you’ve got more energy after a night of good sleep. And, decision fatigue won’t have set in yet.
3. Habit stack it.
You may have heard of this in recent times with the popularity of James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits but this means pairing a task with another thing you regularly do.
So…what are two things that you already do in your schedule? How can this action you want to do fit well between those two things? Or what would make sense to pair this activity with that you’re already doing?
You could plan to do a recurring, resistance-filled task like checking your direct messages, after you fix your morning tea because you know you already do that task everyday. And drinking a nice cup of tea will make it more enjoyable. After a few times of doing it, fixing the tea will be like a cue to remind you to check your DMs.
4. Schedule it.
Add it to your actual calendar. If it’s not on your real calendar, how is there time dedicated to make it happen? Even if you move it on your calendar, you’re more likely to get it done when there’s space created for it.
5. Build in accountability.
Commit to text a friend when it’s done so they can high-five you. This can be especially helpful if it’s an action that requires multiple work sessions. Ask them to check in if they don’t hear from you.
You could also find someone to co-work with to help make it happen so you don’t wander from your project. And if you don’t have a person available to meet up, there are online resources like focusmate to help. I have a friend who loves this approach and gets an impressive amount of work done with this kind of accountability.
6. Plan it
Decide how you’ll get the task done. What step comes first? Second, third, etc. Create a plan of how you’ll tackle this activity. This way you can break it down into smaller, more manageable steps.
Or, overcome resistance by picking ONE thing that you want to get done in each work session to accomplish.
Test It
Notice how you can use one or several of these methods at a time. Dial-in what works for you. This is different for every artist I work with so if you’re not sure yet, pick and test one of these six ways to overcome resistance and see if it’s a fit you add to your overcoming resistance tool set. And keep going until you find an array of approaches that seem to work best.
Doing this will set yourself up for success to get past the resistance you feel around doing certain chores that you’re not energized by. You’ll feel amazing knowing that you’ve completed a yucky task, and not let it stop you in your tracks. You will have worked through any fears or worries that come up related to that action by finding a way to get it done.
Leave a comment to let me know if you've got something that has been helpful to overcome resistance for you as you work through tough-start projects and tasks. I’d love to hear what works for you!