The concept in all these [“healing”] environments seems to be that one needs to complete his healing before he is ready to do his work.
This way of thinking… is a form of Resistance.
What are we trying to heal, anyway? The athlete knows the day will never come when he wakes up pain-free. He has to play hurt.
…
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got nothing against true healing. We all need it. But it has nothing to do with doing our work and it can be a colossal exercise in Resistance. Resistance loves “healing.” Resistance knows that the more psychic energy we spend dredging and re-dredging the tired, boring injustices of our personal lives, the less juice we have to do our work.
Steven Pressfield – The War of Art
The War of Art is slightly silly, but Pressfield makes lots of good points, and it’s worth reading.