--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is a war - between ourselves and the…" description: "\"Art is a war - between ourselves and the forces of self-sabotage that would stop us from doing our work. The artist is a warrior.\" — Steven Pressfield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/steven-pressfield-696_art_art-is-a-war-between-ourselves-and-the-f_2084829.jpg" --- # Art is a war - between ourselves and the forces of… ![“Art is a war - between ourselves and the forces of self-sabotage that would stop us from doing our work. The artist is a warrior.” quote by Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/steven-pressfield-696_art_art-is-a-war-between-ourselves-and-the-f_2084829.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/steven-pressfield-696_art_art-is-a-war-between-ourselves-and-the-f_2084829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/steven-pressfield-696_art_art-is-a-war-between-ourselves-and-the-f_2084829.jpg) > “Art is a war - between ourselves and the forces of self-sabotage that would stop us from doing our work. The artist is a warrior.” [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative work is a battle against internal sabotage; the artist must fight to create. **In simple terms:** Art requires fighting inner blocks. Key Takeaway Embrace the struggle. Themes creativity discipline conflict Mood determined inspirational Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - writing - painting - music production Key Concepts inner resistance war metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What sabotages your work? - How can you become a better warrior? A Different Perspective Constant fighting can cause burnout if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Sabotage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sabotage/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self sabotage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-sabotage/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warrior/) ## Related quotes > [That’s why an artist must be a warrior and, like all warriors, artists over time acquire modesty and humility. They may, some of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/that-s-why-an-artist-must-be-a-warrior-and-like-all-warriors-artists/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [When we are succeeding - that is, when we have begun to overcome our self-doubt and self-sabotage, when we are advancing in our craft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/when-we-are-succeeding-that-is-when-we-have-begun-to-overcome-our/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“He is prepared, each day, to confront his own self-sabotage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/he-is-prepared-each-day-to-confront-his-own-self-sabotage/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Resistance by definition is self-sabotage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-by-definition-is-self-sabotage/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [We need to ascend beyond our own petty Resistance, our own negative self-judgment and self-sabotage, our own "I'm not worthy" mind-set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/we-need-to-ascend-beyond-our-own-petty-resistance-our-own-negative/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Turning pro is a mindset. If we are struggling with fear, self-sabotage, procrastination, self-doubt, etc., the problem is, we're thinking like amateurs. Amateurs don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/turning-pro-is-a-mindset-if-we-are-struggling-with-fear-self-sabotage/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“I am the greatest obstacle to my greatest dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/i-am-the-greatest-obstacle-to-my-greatest-dreams/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“I decry the injustice of my wounds, only to look down and see that I am holding a smoking gun in one hand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/i-decry-the-injustice-of-my-wounds-only-to-look-down-and-see-that-i/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“And I was sure it was the drink that irrigated White’s self-sabotage, for it is the common trait of alcoholics to make plans and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-macdonald/and-i-was-sure-it-was-the-drink-that-irrigated-white-s-self-sabotage/) [Helen Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-macdonald/) > [“When you self-sabotage, you undermine yourself and act in ways that dishonor your mind, body and soul, and ultimately weaken you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanesia-harris/when-you-self-sabotage-you-undermine-yourself-and-act-in-ways-that/) [Tanesia Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanesia-harris/) > [Chicken exits are self-sabotage. They give you a false explanation for why you don't have something you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-vincent/chicken-exits-are-self-sabotage-they-give-you-a-false-explanation-for/) [Ali Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-vincent/) > [The question "Is this an act of self-love or is it an act of self-sabotage?" is one you must consistently ask yourself if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-question-is-this-an-act-of-self-love-or-is-it-an-act-of-self/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [I don't want to completely self-sabotage everything that I've got and alienate everyone. But I definitely want to take some chances as I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-perry/i-don-t-want-to-completely-self-sabotage-everything-that-i-ve-got-and/) [Katy Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-perry/) > [Withholding love is a form of self-sabotage, as what we withhold from others we are withholding from ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/withholding-love-is-a-form-of-self-sabotage-as-what-we-withhold-from/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“Self-sabotage is knowingly doing things that can ruin different aspects of your life and hinder you from reaching your highest potential.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanesia-harris/self-sabotage-is-knowingly-doing-things-that-can-ruin-different/) [Tanesia Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanesia-harris/) ## More by Steven Pressfield > [Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/most-of-us-have-two-lives-the-life-we-live-and-the-unlived-life/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“The artist and the fundamentalist both confront the same issue, the mystery of their existence as individuals. Each asks the same questions: Who am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-artist-and-the-fundamentalist-both-confront-the-same-issue-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The professional arms himself with patience, not only to give the stars time to align in his career, but to keep himself from flaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-professional-arms-himself-with-patience-not-only-to-give-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The Kabbalah describes angels as bundles of light, meaning intelligence, consciousness. Kabbalists believe that above every blade of grass is an angel crying "Grow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-kabbalah-describes-angels-as-bundles-of-light-meaning/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [To labor in the arts for any reason other than love is prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/to-labor-in-the-arts-for-any-reason-other-than-love-is-prostitution/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“that of dealing death, of loosing another man’s soul and sending it down to hell. You want to savor it, to twist the blade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/that-of-dealing-death-of-loosing-another-man-s-soul-and-sending-it/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-is-experienced-as-fear-the-degree-of-fear-equates-to-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us... Ideas come. Insights accrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/when-we-sit-down-each-day-and-do-our-work-power-concentrates-around/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Anything that draws attention to ourselves through pain-free or artificial means is a manifestation of Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/anything-that-draws-attention-to-ourselves-through-pain-free-or/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The Gnostics believed that exile was the essential condition of man. Do you agree? I do. The artist and the addict both wrestle with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-gnostics-believed-that-exile-was-the-essential-condition-of-man/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The soul that rises with us, our life's star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting-the-soul-that-rises-with-us/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [You are a writer when you tell yourself you are. No one else's opinion matters. Screw them. You are when you say you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/you-are-a-writer-when-you-tell-yourself-you-are-no-one-else-s-opinion/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Resistance outwits the amateur with the oldest trick in the book: It uses his own enthusiasm against him. Resistance gets us to plunge into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-outwits-the-amateur-with-the-oldest-trick-in-the-book-it/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“I don't need to read nothing,' said the New Zealander. 'I was there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/i-don-t-need-to-read-nothing-said-the-new-zealander-i-was-there/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) [Explore all 404 Steven Pressfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. 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