--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Research can become Resistance. We want…" description: "\"Research can become Resistance. We want to work, not prepare to work.\" — Steven Pressfield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/steven-pressfield-696_inspirational_research-can-become-resistance-we-want-t_2892970.jpg" --- # Research can become Resistance. We want to work, not… ![“Research can become Resistance. We want to work, not prepare to work.” quote by Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/steven-pressfield-696_inspirational_research-can-become-resistance-we-want-t_2892970.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/steven-pressfield-696_inspirational_research-can-become-resistance-we-want-t_2892970.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/steven-pressfield-696_inspirational_research-can-become-resistance-we-want-t_2892970.jpg) > “Research can become Resistance. We want to work, not prepare to work.” [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. Work should be an active pursuit, not a perpetual preparation phase. **In simple terms:** Don't just prepare; start working. Key Takeaway Take action now, avoid endless planning. Themes productivity action discipline Mood motivational direct Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - starting a project - career development - creative writing Key Concepts psychology of procrastination creative resistance Questions to Reflect On - What task are you over‑preparing? - How can you shift from planning to doing? A Different Perspective Preparation can become an excuse for inaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Love has no resistance. Whatever we do is because we want to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/love-has-no-resistance-whatever-we-do-is-because-we-want-to-do-it/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [The nature of the work is to prepare for a good accident .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lumet/the-nature-of-the-work-is-to-prepare-for-a-good-accident/) [Sidney Lumet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lumet/) > [I can control how I work, how I prepare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gardner-minshew/i-can-control-how-i-work-how-i-prepare/) [Gardner Minshew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gardner-minshew/) > [A workman who wants to do his work well must first prepare his tools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/a-workman-who-wants-to-do-his-work-well-must-first-prepare-his-tools/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [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/) > [Resistance cannot be seen, touched, heard, or smelled. But it can be felt. We experince it as an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-cannot-be-seen-touched-heard-or-smelled-but-it-can-be-felt/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [On the field of The Self stand a knight and a dragon. You are the knight. Resistance is the dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/on-the-field-of-the-self-stand-a-knight-and-a-dragon-you-are-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Resistance is not a peripheral opponent. Resistance arises from within. It is self-generated and self-perpetuated. resistance is the enemy within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-is-not-a-peripheral-opponent-resistance-arises-from-within/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“The danger is greatest when the finish line is in sight. At this point, Resistance knows we're about to beat it. It hits the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-danger-is-greatest-when-the-finish-line-is-in-sight-at-this-point/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. There never was a moment, and never will be, when we are without the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/never-forget-this-very-moment-we-can-change-our-lives-there-never-was/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/to-yield-to-resistance-deforms-our-spirit-it-stunts-us-and-makes-us/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Do we have to stare death in the face to make us stand up and confront Resistance?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/do-we-have-to-stare-death-in-the-face-to-make-us-stand-up-and/) [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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## 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 Inspirational quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/) [H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/) > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up-the-men-to-gather-wood/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) [Browse all 114,561 Inspirational quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Research can become Resistance. 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