Ever have that feeling of powerful opposition to doing something you know you want to do? The feeling that stops you from getting your butt to the gym, cleaning out your chaotic closet, or finally signing up for the yoga training you’ve been yearning to master? I do. It shows up as me reading People.com or cruising the fridge for chocolate. Sometimes it’s watching a bad Lifetime movie or nipping to the wine store instead of nesting at my desk.

In his bestselling book, Turning Pro, Steven Pressfield identifies this feeling in one brilliant, accurate, precise, and simple word: resistance. Resistance is essentially what stands between you and your dream life.

I know resistance like I know my oldest, closest best friend. It knows me too. We’re inseparable. 

Resistance applies to everything from our health to our savings accounts, creative work… anything that delays gratification in favor of longer-term gain. Pretty much without exception, resistance stands in the way of what’s good for us. But the pros know something we don’t: They know about resistance, and they know how to slay it.

Here’s how to be the pro you were born to be and live a far more productive life, your way:

1. Do the work.

This means we do not wait “to feel inspired” to blog or paint, nor relent to the illusion that “we’ll get to it tomorrow.” There is no tomorrow. The only time to act is now. Now is all we will ever have; it’s always now. So what can you do today – even only for just 20 minutes?

Everyone has 20 minutes.

2. Cut the crap.

In order to focus on what’s critically important to us, we might have to say no to our second cousin’s birthday that’s 90 minutes away. We might have to skip The Bachelor to meet a personal deadline (or hey, just watch it later—it doesn’t always feel like it, but that stuff really can wait)! We can Facebook in a few hours, after doing the important stuff that resistance begs us to avoid, or when we need a little break after doing the important stuff for two hours.

Because the important stuff is the important stuff. The rest is largely crap.

3. Remove distractions.

My preferred distractions include prosecco, Instagram storying, calling my sisters to talk about anything (which is most often nothing, or nothing critical). I even let myself get distracted by unpleasant thoughts, like worrying about my dog dying of heartworm because my neighbor’s brother’s dog had it once. It’s all resistance. Nothing else.

What should you really be doing instead? You know.

4. Stop seeking approval.

When I became a life coach while juggling a very busy full time job, people thought I was a weirdo. “Why are you pushing yourself so hard?” I’d hear. No one understood. But they didn’t have to. My inner wisdom understood extremely well. Because I held close the vision of my dream life.

I turned down weddings, brunches and destination bachelorette parties, and was pretty much always the first to leave the bar on a Friday night (a big first for me). Were my friends disappointed? Yes. Did I feel some guilt and self-reproach for pulling back on social stuff to focus on my true calling in this world? Definitely.

But I could live with that. I could also live with disgruntled texts and sad face emojis. But I couldn’t live with sacrificing my destiny. So I didn’t.

5. Embrace delays.

Deferred gratification is almost always the only real gratification there is. Published authors know this. So do athletes. So do the folks with sweet bank balances who think, “I don’t need that new car—mine works just fine.”

Is this easy? No. Does it get easier? A little. Especially as the delayed wins compound over time and you feel immense pleasure over what has been awarded to you by time, consistency, and patience.

The good new is, you’re already a pro.

Think about how you show up at your job every day, even when it might not be the career of your dreams.

Consider how you parent, even when you’re exhausted and your child tests your tolerance.

I doubt you gave up learning to walk as a baby, learning to drive as a teenager, or mastering any skill you’re now proud of after a few failures and a whole lot of fatigue along the way.

The opposite is being a pro? It’s called being an amateur. An amateur treats life like a dress rehearsal, hiding behind the scenes. A pro owns the live stage. Which are you right now?

How do you get your butt into gear? Let me know in the comments box below!

Don’t miss my LIVE webinar this Thursday on how to kick ass with a Side Hustle. It may well be your ticket to your dream life, just like it became mine! Sign up here! You’ll be happy you did.