Choose Resistance

This week, we kick off a 4-part series looking at Robert Greene’s book, Mastery. In the first edition, we explore how leaning into resistance is the key to unlocking our full potential…

🎯 The Idea In a Nutshell:

• We naturally gravitate to what we’re already good at, but this keeps us stagnant.

• Mastery is built by leaning into what feels difficult, not avoiding it.

• Real growth requires “resistance practice” — deliberately seeking difficulty.

• Pushing through the resulting frustration develops the resilience needed for us to reach our potential.

• The greatest breakthroughs often emerge only after we persist through discomfort.

📝 Diving Deeper

At the age of 21, John Keats, who would become one of England’s greatest Romantic poets, set himself an audacious goal: to write a 4,000-line poem in just seven months. Three-quarters of the way through the project, he came to loathe the poem. Every line felt forced. The work was stilted, the process excruciating. But Keats refused to quit.

In the end, Keats himself found the result mediocre. But it wasn’t the poem itself that mattered. The act of pushing through the resistance had transformed him: showing up to write even when he had no inspiration, persisting through frustration, and learning to critique his own work with a cold, honest eye.

The discipline forged in this act paved the way for Keats to become one of the most prolific poets in the history of Western literature.

If we’re not careful, we gravitate toward practicing only the elements of our craft that feel satisfying. This limits our growth. Robert Greene urges us toward “resistance practice,” deliberately seeking what challenges us most:

• Initiate the difficult conversation you’ve been avoiding.

• Tackle the project at work that feels beyond your current abilities.

• Engage fully with your kids, even when you’d rather check out.

Mastery is not born of ease and comfort. Difficulty is part of the process. Actualizing our potential requires learning how to push through resistance. Stay when you want to leave. Face what you want to avoid. That’s where real growth occurs.

👉 Why it matters:

• Learning to face what we want to avoid is a transferable skill.

• “Resistance practice” in one area of life builds tenacity across every area.

• This ability to push through discomfort unlocks new levels of growth and sets a powerful example for our children.

🤔 Prompts for Reflection

• In what part of your life are you choosing comfort over growth?

• What’s one act you can take this week to lean into resistance?

• How would cultivating more tenacity help you move forward instead of staying stuck in place?

Make today impactful,
~Jason