When in doubt…

The monkeys in my head have been very active lately, making my self-doubt grow, telling me “I make crap and nobody’s interested, telling me I’m boring or ugly, telling me I’m too old for this and that… And look at those younger ones that are accomplished artists comparing to me. I even never had a proper exhibition in a “real” art gallery. That’s normal ’cause I don’t make real Art…So what am I making then, if it’s not real Art? Is it just a waste of time?” And it goes on and on like that and I’m looking for ways to make them shut up and make the doubt and shame go away!

Do you sometimes feel the same? How do you make those feelings go away?

The thing that definitely works best for me is to grab my sketchbook.

To have doubts and to feel uncertain of ourselves is nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, it’s totally human and healthy, although it can be paralyzing. We can never know how people will react to something we make, and for perfectionists we’ll never be good enough, so trying to please everybody will never work out.

My doubts are always in the back of my head, telling me I’m not good enough.” I have to do better, this won’t work out, nobody will find it interesting, you see, nobody gives comments, is somebody reading this sh*t anyway?…” despite of the fact I get some great e-mails from some of you sometimes that warm my heart πŸ™‚

So, “Just be yourself”

What are your main doubts?

My main doubts are about my competences, about what I make and write and tell : is it “interesting enough”? I also doubt about the choices I make : won’t I regret this or that when I will be dying? Won’t I regret “later” not to have made any kids of my own? Won’t I regret “later” not to have spend more time making paintings and trying to be an accomplished artist? Am I spending enough time doing “things that matter” to make me a better human? I’m not “useful” enough !

What helps me is to see these doubts as something useful : it helps us to consider things with the eyes of someone else and to try to understand how others see life. It appears that a lot of succesful people are also full of doubts. When you’re doubting about yourself you listen better to critics to get better at what you’re doing. Doubtful people are also less arrogant and work harder to become succesful.

When in doubt, we are looking for our soul and developping our brain. We can’t do that when we’re too confident. We’re learning to look at the world from different angles. This helps when writing or when making other art. Certainty is a blindfold.

Dare to make choices

So doubt is a good thing, but don’t let it destroy what’s good in your life. I’ve let it sometimes rule my life too much and I’ve certainly let it dominate me when it shouldn’t have. When it gets counterproductive, let it go or life will happen without your participation. Don’t let uncertainty get chronic.

To get past uncertainty it helps to analyze the source and talk about it. Don’t let it stop you from living your life and make choices. Face it, even if it’s difficult

Don’t let self-doubt prevent you from showing up!

Doubting yourself in some degree is healthy to grow, but not if it’s stopping yourself from showing up and making your art. Then it’s the self-sabotage. The projects not shipped, the hugs not given, the art not made…

SO: show up, make your art and show it to me, to the world ! πŸ™‚

The good thing about making art is that it empties your head and you’ll immediately feel much lighter and better.

Here’s a great Ted talk about the subject from the Canadian Blogger Elan Morgan.

Are you in doubt?

 

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