A friend of mine is struggling right now. It’s not the kind of brilliant, joyful struggle of a master, but the nervous, disheartened struggle of a discontent beginner. He’s not where he wants to be, he’s not sure which direction to go, and he knows any direction is going to start off with an uphill battle.

Starting out on a new, atypical path is hard. At the beginning of something novel, when you have the least momentum, is often the hardest part. If you say, “I’m gonna be a lawyer” no one really bats an eye. If you say, “I’m gonna live in my car and climb full-time” the reaction you get is quite different.

But people’s reflex negativity to novel ideas serves a useful purpose. It’s a test.

Immediate skepticism often filters out those who are just dreaming from those who are truly committed to the work ahead. Like a lumbering brute with a big club, unsupportive negativity guards the passage that leads to the gold in the next room.

And how we deal with the beast determines if we can move forward to the next level.

Contrarianism, and the self-confidence that reinforces it, are like muscles. They have to be challenged and fatigued before they can be strengthened. If you practice them slowly and surely — and if you leave the biggest beasts for last — then eventually other people’s opinions won’t matter at all. At that point your gut instincts for what you want to do will be strong enough that they’ll be the only confirmation you need.

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