PP 039: 3 Ways to Kill the Pressure & Stop Projecting Defeat
A Defeated Mindset Makes It Hard to Start Or Stick With It
Do you deal with projecting defeat and tell yourself:
I want to make money from my talents but don’t know where to start?
I don’t know what I’m doing, why start when I won't get anywhere?
We all want to be successful but this foreshadowed failure can stop you from even starting or sticking with it.
How can you silence that inner critic and pick a road to start down?
Honestly, I think the majority of us creative have no idea where we are headed—me especially.
Each year, the road seems to drastically change but the hardest thing I ever did was to start. The second hardest thing I’ve done is stick with it.
With a defeated mindset, it makes it hard for things to ever change and evolve if you don’t take the first step and begin in a blind direction.
I think when you’ve made up your mind that you have to be successful and make money off your creative pursuits that you’re setting yourself up for defeat.
I want to give you 3 ways to take the pressure off yourself as you pursue work that lights you up. The success, money and recognition are by-products when you continue to show up and improve your skills.
1. Experimentation
I think it’s safe to say that the majority of professionals didn’t start off immediately successful in their line of work.
I’d wager to say that your heroes probably started off with their work as a hobby and it blossomed from there.
In my case, drawing was a hobby my entire life that I didn’t think I was very good at. However, once I started sharing my work and experimenting with different mediums and styles, I began to find my grove and my voice...and slowly getting paid to do it.
Even today I’m constantly experimenting— I’m afraid to get stagnant and content with my skills as I believe that caps your potential.
Avoid the pressure of needing to be a Bob Ross or Doyald Young right out of the gates.
Treat your early stages of your work as a hobby that’s just for you and nobody else. Dip your toes in the water and experiment in work that you’re not only good at but that you enjoy as well.
2. Find Work You Enjoy
This is basically the underlying message to my show. If you’re creating work that you don’t enjoy, you could be slowly suffocating the excitement of your talents.
For the longest time, I was doing client work that involved me trying to recreate other people's styles.
Other times I was creating to please others and jumping on trends hoping people would like my work.
Sadly, when I shared this work that wasn’t true to myself, I slowly found myself becoming less satisfied, more frustrated and more apt to quit.
With the exception of client work, I encourage you to create from a place that is for you and nobody else.
Pursue the road of chasing work that lights you up and that you enjoy.
3. Consistency & Staying the Course
Transforming that hobby into a successful creative career generally lands into two buckets:
Being consistent
Creating quality work over time
By creating and sharing work you enjoy and are good at over time, you’re bound to slowly attract an audience around it.
It will seem like nobody's paying attention in the beginning and this may be true. Remind yourself that you’re not doing it for other people and that you have to give it time to grow as Matt Dawson says.
Think about it, more people are getting access to the internet each day.
As of April 2017, Instagram has over 700 million users and you know what that could mean for you?
You never know when you’re one scroll or swipe away from having your work discovered by that one person who can open the flood gates of opportunity.
You’re boosting your odds when you continue to show up and put out your best work.
Kill the Pressure of Projecting Defeat
To be honest, I don’t think you and I will ever completely silence that inner critic. Yet we can be mindful on how we approach our work.
Putting pressure on yourself to be successful and make money from your talents is unnecessary, especially in the early stages. That is the quickest way to suffocate the joy from even starting or sticking with something.
When picking a road to follow:
Experiment and treat your work like a hobby in the beginning.
Enjoy the work you do and create for yourself.
Stay the course and be consistent with sharing and improving your skills.
I have a gut feeling that if you follow these steps, you’ll set yourself up for some pretty spectacular opportunities to come your way.
Key Takeaways
Things can’t change and evolve if you don’t take the first step and begin in a blind direction.
Your heroes probably started off with their work as a hobby
Treat your early stages of your work as a hobby that’s just for you and nobody else.
Dip your toes in the water and experiment in work that you’re not only good at but that you enjoy as well.
Pursue the road of chasing work that lights you up and that you enjoy.
You never know when you’re one scroll or swipe away from having your work discovered.
You’re boosting your odds when you continue to show up and put out your best work.
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CREDITS
Music - Blookah
Executive Assistant - Paige Garland
Photo & Video Specialist - Colton Bachar
Social Media Coordinator - Hannah Schick
Animation Specialist - Greg D'Amico