On Resisting Purpose + Curated Content
Contemplative Corner #4 | Curated Content #27 | May 2025
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Friends,
At two events this month, I was asked about clarity and focus when it comes to purpose. One audience member said they had two entrepreneurial ideas and were struggling to choose between them. Another shared that they knew what their calling is but were holding back from going all in.
Both are versions of what Steven Pressfield refers to in his book War on Art as resistance. Every true calling, entrepreneurial idea or creative endeavour brings resistance. It’s not that we don’t know what to do; it’s that we do know and it terrifies us. So, we resist it and the risk it carries by avoiding moving forward. By telling ourselves we can’t choose between options when really we are afraid of the option we know we should pick. Or by rationalising that it will never work when we know it could. Learning to walk through that fear and overcome resistance is part of the process of doing great work in the world. There is no promise of comfort when it comes to purpose. The bigger the vision, the bigger the fear. To have the impact you know you are capable of will ask you to find your way through that fear.
The antidote is to take a first step. You have to commit. Purpose and entrepreneurship both demand iteration; you rarely get it right first time. You have to accept it will be a bit messy. Only by taking that step do you gather the information you are missing or test your product or service with clients. Most importantly, taking that first step brings the struggle and disappointment that will shape you into who you need to become to create something real in the world.
There isn’t an easier way. And this is often what people struggle with most: the uncertainty, the fear of failure, the loss of ego, the willingness to sacrifice immediate ‘success’ for longer term endeavours. To be more purposeful in your life or work, you must increase your capacity for uncertainty. The challenge isn’t that the goal is unattainable; the challenge is whether you can get over your resistance enough to pursue it.
In the resources🧘📚🎧⬇️ this month, I have dug deeper into this theme to help you uncover where it might be showing up in your life, work or business.
Enjoy!
Fiona x