Dealing with Self-doubt as an Artist

“What I weigh”

I weigh the storm

I weigh a thousand stories long.

I weigh my mother’s fortitude and my father’s eyes

I weigh the way they look at me with pride

I weigh strength and fearless and the warrior in me.

I weigh all the pain and trauma that made me see

That I have more galaxies inside me than tragedies.

We all weigh joys and darkness and goodness and sin

You see, we are infinite within this skin we are in.

So when they ask you what you weigh

You don’t need to look down at any scale.

Instead, simply tell them the truth,

Tell them how you

Weigh whole universes

And storms and scars and stories too.

-Nikita Gill-

This poem rings true for me, not because of physical weight,  but because of the weight we sometimes carry on our shoulders. A weight placed on us by the people around us, or by ourselves. This weight, I believe can affect us greatly. It can sometimes hinder our progress and thwart our plans, hopes and dreams.

We want to be the best we can be as artists. We want to have all eyes on our creations; we want to be able to support ourselves and our families while doing the thing we love. However, life doesn’t always work out so. Sometimes our art  failures crush our confidence, especially when other artists around us don’t seem to be affected by such “trivialities”.

Sometimes the people around us expound the effects of our failures, by pointing out our inability to attain success when they see fit. The poet is right when she says that we hold more galaxies inside us than tragedies. So we have no need to prove anything to others,  we only need to prove to ourselves. Tell them that you hold galaxies and whole universes inside. There is a success in you despite your failures. You can overcome all doubts and unbelief in you, regardless of what others say.

If you feel like giving up, because you haven’t improved the way you want to, maybe its time to take a step back- take a break. Maybe you have done enough. It makes no sense to try with a heavy heart, there are times when you need to step away from your art to rejuvenate. Sometimes as artists we feel guilty when we aren’t producing work constantly. But It isn’t a crime to take some time for yourself- in reality, it is a necessity.

Take the time to rebuild your confidence. Confidence always triumphs over doubt.

I talked about overcoming self-doubt in-depth on YouTube channel. So if you want to hear more about that, please click the link below.

I want to discuss in-depth three main topics, that I briefly mentioned in this video.

1. Working On Your Art Despite How You Feel

When we experience self-doubt as an artist we are tempted to not work on our art as much as we should.  We may have self-deprecating thoughts, which only serves a hindrance to our growth as an artist. I have read a few books and listened to a few podcasts on mastering your craft as an artist, and they all seem to emphasize the importance of not relying on inspiration to do art. ( I really recommend Proko on YouTube as a good source for art information, Click here to see his channel. ) We must learn to produce art despite our feelings or our lack of motivation, especially if you want art to be your career.

This is definitely not an easy feat. It is difficult to work on art when you don’t feel like your art is good enough or you are not sure if you will ever be able to be as good as you want to be. There are, however a few things you can do to overcome these feelings. Firstly, make the conscious decision that you will be a great artist.  You have to believe that you can be as good as you want to be. There is this famous saying "fake it till you make it", I think this applies here. At first, you won't necessarily believe it but you must continue to speak positively about yourself for this to work.

Secondly, start to attack your weak points. It is upsetting when you cant get certain painting techniques right, or your anatomy is completely off and you aren't sure exactly what to do. Because of this, you may start to doubt yourself. However, this is the time where you should work on your weaknesses. Remember the goal is to work on art despite how you feel, so you may still feel bad about the work you are producing, but that's ok. These practices of trial and error will go a long way in your development- trust me. For a vast majority of us, 70- 80% of the time we don’t feel like producing art or we don't have the motivation. If we were able to maximize this time, despite our feelings think how much you can achieve in a few months.

2. Be Patient With Your Art

In this day and age we are in a constant rush. We are in a rush to get rich quick, to become an expert in our field or to just become great. But have you ever stopped to think that all of this takes time- lots of time? Many of the masters in the art field aren't young, therefore this implies that it takes years to be the best. It takes years of hard work and dedication.  So just because you didn't get one painting right it doesn’t mean you should give up now. It is always too soon to give up.

Everything in life takes time, and the sooner you realize that the better off you will be. I think every artist struggles with this fact at some point or another, wondering when will their big break come? When will the art I produce look like how I imagined it? When will there be a demand for my work? When will I see my growth as an artist? When will I start making money from my art? None of us know the answers to these questions, so it makes no sense to worry about it. It will come for some of us sooner than it will for others, but IT WILL COME. As long as you continue to work hard, all the things you have been waiting for will come. Remember just don't give up!!

We won't always see growth when it is happening, but take confidence in knowing that everything you do now as an artist is working towards your growth. Life is in the waiting, so just try to enjoy the process now,  you will be shocked one day when you finally see your growth.

3. Be Your Own Fan

It is always good to have a support system, a group of people in your corner always cheering you on. But a lot of the time we don’t have that kind of support, whether it be from our family,  our social media followers or our fellow artists. Sometimes there is no one cheering us on. If we want to get to the place where our art is as good as we know it can be, we have to be our own fans. We have to learn to cheer ourselves on and to give our self the support and motivational speeches we need.

Now it is important to be a realistic fan, who is able to congratulate yourself on your small victories and also to point out and correct your mistakes. There is always room for improvement, and as your own personal fan, you should be able to knowledge your accomplishments, while working on your weaknesses. If you want to overcome self-doubt, the best bet is to increase your art skills, but you won't get there without first believing in yourself and being your own source of motivation. By being your own fan it is your duty to give yourself encouragements to continue along this art journey, so you can self-actualize as the artist you truly want to be. Remember that despite how you feel, or despite the quality of your work now, there is still hope. Hope that you can become great in the future so don't give up.

I hope that these tips will help you to think more positively about your art.  I recommend that you try these along with the other tips I suggested in my YouTube video ( Click here to watch the video). If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in the comment section below, I'll be sure to respond. 

Thank you so much for stopping by, Talk to you soon.

Peta