The War Of Art & Social Videos: Why You’re Sabotaging Your Video Success
Picture this: You sit down to record a video for your business. You know it’s the most powerful way to grow your audience. You know it could work for you 24/7, bringing in clients and building your brand while you sleep.
But there’s this feeling. A heaviness. A resistance so strong it feels like you’re trying to push through concrete.
Sound familiar?
Maybe you tell yourself stories: “I don’t have time right now.” “I haven’t found my perfect niche yet.” “The lighting isn’t quite right.” But underneath all those rational-sounding excuses lies something deeper—a fundamental resistance that your mind will find any way to avoid.
You’re not alone. This is why millions of people start YouTube channels and quit. Why entrepreneurs launch Instagram Live once or twice, then mysteriously stop. Why that video marketing strategy you invested in sits gathering digital dust.
The War Against Yourself (And Why It’s Killing Your Success)
Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art” captures this struggle perfectly. He describes resistance as this force that will mess with your health, relationships, and finances—anything to preserve your ego and keep you “safe” from potential failure or judgment.
I used to live by this philosophy. Every morning, I’d force myself to sit down and create content, regardless of how I felt. Some days I’d stare at the blank screen for hours, my shoulders tensed up to my ears, fighting against every fiber of my being that wanted to do literally anything else.
The problem? Pressfield frames creativity as an inevitable battle. A daily war you must fight against yourself. Get up at 9 AM and write, whether you feel inspired or not. Push through the discomfort. Expect to feel like crap, and just do it anyway.
I remember one particular week where I’d scheduled five video recordings. By Wednesday, I was so wound up about it that I actually got a stress headache just thinking about turning on the camera. I’d created this internal prison where creativity felt like punishment.
While there’s truth to the discipline aspect, this approach creates something toxic: a lifetime of internal conflict. I’ve heard stories of performers still vomiting before going on stage after 20 years of performing. That’s not mastery—that’s sustained trauma.
What If There Was a Better Way?
Here’s what most people miss: when you’re truly in flow, expressing something that matters to you, resistance nearly disappears. You’re not thinking about the sandwich in the kitchen or scrolling social media. You’re not worried about the results. You’re simply enjoying the process of communicating something meaningful.
I experienced this firsthand about two years ago. I was working on a video about something I was genuinely passionate about—helping people overcome their fear of being seen online. As I started talking, something shifted. The camera stopped feeling like this intimidating judge, and instead became like a friend I was sharing something important with. I recorded for 20 minutes straight, completely lost in the flow of the conversation. When I finished, I realized I hadn’t checked the time once or worried about how I looked.
The key insight? Resistance often signals that you’re either:
- Trying to create content that doesn’t truly matter to you
- Fighting against parts of yourself instead of working with them
I had a client, Sarah, who came to me after starting and stopping her YouTube channel three times. Each time, she’d force herself to follow trending topics instead of talking about what she actually cared about. No wonder she felt resistance—she was essentially asking herself to perform as someone else day after day.
The Psychology of What We Resist Persists
There’s a fundamental principle in psychology: what we resist persists. When you fight against resistance, you’re actually feeding it. You’re creating more internal conflict, not less.
Think about it like this: If you had a child who didn’t want to get on the bus, and you tried to physically drag them on, what would happen? They’d dig their heels in deeper. They’d throw a complete fit. You’d both miss the bus.
I learned this lesson the hard way with my own video creation. For months, I’d sit down to record and immediately feel this wave of “I don’t want to do this.” My response? Force myself harder. “Come on, just push through it!” I’d tell myself. But the more I fought it, the stronger it became. I’d end up procrastinating for hours, then finally record something while feeling completely drained and inauthentic.
But if you acknowledged their fear—”I can see you’re feeling scared, and that’s okay, but we do need to get on this bus to get home”—suddenly that child feels heard. The resistance softens. Cooperation becomes possible.
Your internal resistance works the same way. One day, instead of fighting the “I don’t want to” feeling, I tried something different. I actually said out loud: “I can see there’s a part of me that really doesn’t want to do this video right now. That’s okay. What are you worried about?” And I waited. The answer came: “What if I say something stupid and everyone judges me?”
That was the real fear underneath. Once I acknowledged it, something shifted. The resistance didn’t disappear entirely, but it softened enough that I could work with it instead of against it.
The Collaboration Approach: Your Secret Weapon
Instead of declaring war on yourself, what if you collaborated with the resistant part of you?
When you stop fighting resistance and start observing it with curiosity, something magical happens. You might notice thoughts like:
- “What if I look stupid?”
- “What if no one watches?”
- “What if I say something wrong?”
Rather than pushing these thoughts away, you acknowledge them: “I can see there’s a part of me that’s worried about looking foolish. That part is trying to protect me, and I appreciate that.”
When that protective part feels heard and understood, it often releases its emotional grip. The heaviness lifts. You can move forward, not in spite of that part, but with it as an ally.
Imagine Your Resistance as Your Superpower
Picture this for a moment: What if all that energy you’re using to resist making videos was suddenly aligned with your goals? Instead of that internal tug-of-war, imagine having all parts of yourself pushing in the same direction.
This isn’t just feel-good theory—it’s a practical superpower. When you’re internally aligned, you become congruent. And congruence is magnetic. People can sense it. They’re drawn to it. Your videos become more authentic, more compelling, more effective.
I saw this transformation happen with my client Marcus. He’d been struggling with video for months, forcing himself to show up with this “fake it till you make it” energy. His videos were technically fine, but they felt hollow. Then we worked on getting his resistant parts on board with his vision. The next video he sent me? Completely different energy. He was the same person, talking about the same topics, but now he was fully aligned with what he was doing. His engagement tripled within a week.
Those creators you admire who seem effortlessly confident? They’re not superhuman. They’ve simply learned to work with their resistance instead of against it.
The Real Secret to Video Success
Creating successful videos isn’t about:
- Finding the perfect niche
- Having the best equipment
- Following the latest algorithm tricks
- Forcing yourself to show up no matter how you feel
It’s about learning to collaborate with every part of yourself—including the scared, protective parts that just want to keep you safe.
When you master this internal collaboration, video creation stops feeling like a chore and starts feeling like authentic self-expression. You show up as your genuine self, not a performance of who you think you should be.
Your Next Step: From Resistance to Flow
The difference between creators who quit after a few videos and those who build thriving businesses isn’t talent or luck—it’s this ability to transform resistance into alignment.
The entrepreneurs who consistently show up on video, who build engaged communities, who turn their visibility into real business growth? They’ve learned to work with their psychology, not against it.
I think about my client Jennifer, who went from recording one awkward video every three months to creating weekly content that her audience actually looks forward to. The change wasn’t in her content strategy or her camera setup—it was in her relationship with the process itself. She stopped fighting herself and started collaborating with herself.
Ready to transform your relationship with video creation? I’ve created a comprehensive guide that walks you through exactly how to overcome video resistance and start creating from a place of authentic confidence, not forced motivation that burns out in two weeks.
This isn’t about pushing through discomfort or “faking it till you make it.” It’s about creating a sustainable, enjoyable video practice that actually serves your business goals. I developed this approach after years of the “just push through it” mentality left me burned out and creating content that felt like a chore.
In this free guide, you’ll discover:
- How to identify and work with your specific resistance patterns
- The exact steps to transform video anxiety into creative flow
- A framework for showing up authentically on camera without the performance pressure
- How to build a sustainable video practice that grows your business while honouring your natural rhythms
Get your free guide here and start creating videos that feel good to make and actually grow your business.
Because here’s the truth: The world needs what you have to offer. Your resistance isn’t trying to stop you—it’s trying to protect you. When you learn to work with it instead of against it, you unlock a level of authentic confidence that no amount of forced motivation can touch.
Your video success story starts with internal collaboration, not internal war. Let’s begin.