Resistance is a concept created by American novelist Steven Pressfield that illustrates the universal force that he claims acts against human creativity.
[8] It is the force that will stop an individual's creative activity through any means necessary, whether it be rationalizing, inspiring fear and anxiety, emphasizing other distractions that require attention, raising the voice of an inner critic, and much more.
[9] Pressfield goes on to claim that Resistance is the most dangerous element to one's life and dreams since its sole mission is to sabotage aspirations.
He explains steps that human beings can take to overcome this force and keep it subdued so that they can create to their fullest potential, although Resistance is never fully gone.
[15] Psychologist Frederick Heide has cited Pressfield's book The War of Art and questioned whether "fighting" Resistance is always a helpful metaphor; Heide suggested that such agonistic metaphors could end up "ironically perpetuating the resistance it predicts.