How to deal with the most popular creative fears

Video: How to deal with the most popular creative fears

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Everyone knows that creative people are more vulnerable and more sensitive than other people. And fears do not allow to live and work normally. Christoph Niemann in his book "Sketches on Sundays" gives excellent advice on how to overcome all fears, become happy and fruitful in creativity. Read this article about four common fears and how to overcome them.

Fear 1. All my ideas are bullshit

And this is probably the most common fear - "everything that I come up with is useless nonsense." The fact is that we are critical of ourselves and do not allow our creator to unfold in full force. The shortcomings of our work and projects are striking, the critic rages and we put an end to our creativity. What to do? Treat yourself with love and improve every day.

"Drawing, design, visual thinking are just skills to master, and willpower and perseverance will make up for the lack of talent."

To be successful in any endeavor, you need to make an effort every day, set up challenges for yourself and improve your skills.

Illustration from the book

Fear 2. I will be criticized

Let's say you think your idea is good. But here the next fear appears on the way - fear of criticism and disapproval from friends, acquaintances and strangers. Moreover, now it is so easy to show your creation to the world. Show the public your work on Facebook, and feedback will be clear from the likes and comments. The problem is that creative people have a fragile conceit.

How to get rid of this fear? First of all, you shouldn't confuse the number of likes with the quality of work. Still, these are two different things. Second, if the criticism is constructive, thank the giver and do your job even better.

"Real art often requires thoughtful contemplation, evokes ambiguous emotions and not everyone likes it."

Illustration from the book

Fear 3. Ideas will run out

And this is the most paradoxical fear of a creative person, which does not even allow him to start doing something. For example, a person wanted to lead a column in a magazine. And then he got scared - it’s necessary to write something regularly, come up with topics for this column and make them uncommon and interesting. How to get rid of this fear? Start collecting ideas that you like so that you would like to translate into your project. Collect drawings, titles, embroidery patterns - or what do you want to do there? Collect as many ideas as you can. And then start generating your own. Create constantly, everywhere, at any free moment.

“The most rewarding ideas come along the way. What is this process? You need to start doing what you can do well, and then step into uncharted territory and see what happens."

Illustration from the book

Christoph Niemann once decided to arrange a creative marathon for himself. He ran a real marathon and drew sketches at the same time. Result: 42 km, 46 sketches. Set yourself a framework and a fixed time, come up with as many ideas as you can. This will train your brain to generate many good ideas from which you can choose the best ones.

Fear 4. You can't make a living with your favorite activity

A common situation when a person, in addition to his main job, has a hobby that he would like to do more and earn a living from it. But there is a great fear that you will not earn money by doing what you love and that you will end up on the street.

How can this fear be overcome? Start procrastinating. Ideally, accumulate an amount that is enough for you for six months, a year, so that you can leave your unloved job and become a professional in your hobby, start your own business.