When you have a quiet moment, take a second and think of something creative that you love to do and hold that in your mind for a second....
Now I need to ask: do you like sharing this thing you love to do, or do you keep it private?
Some people experience great joy from sharing their creative works with the world... or at least with their close family and friends! If that's you, then you are wonderful (and we appreciate you and your work!). If you are one of those who doesn't want to share your efforts, is it possible that you are too hard on yourself?
For a lot of us, when we do something that represents "us" - especially something creative like writing or art, we go through a strange pattern. That pattern can play out like this: You write something you like and feel fairly proud of it (happy!). Then, shortly thereafter, you hate it and develop doubts and think that it is terrible (very unhappy!). Does this ever happen to you?
Why do we flip flop like this? What changed? Certainly not whatever creative project created. It didn't suddenly get worse. So why does our confidence nosedive after the initial happiness high?
I honestly don't know the answer to that, but I do know that if I leave it alone long enough I can revisit it and then find that I am happy with it again. And fortunately, that satisfaction stays. Is that the way it is for you?
I wish we didn't have to suffer through these crashes of confidence, but the older I get, the more I recognize and understand them. Now I know I just need to ride out the uncomfortable drop, be kind to myself, and appreciate the process. Sure wish I hadn't ripped up so much poetry before I knew that :).
I wrote this little article on confidence on my LinkedIn profile years ago and just "found it" again. And it turns out, it wasn't as awful as I remembered. Interesting ;).
So, does this happen to anyone else? What is that last thing you created?
I am going to challenge everyone to stretch a little - create something and then share it if you can. After that, leave it for a few weeks and then come back with fresh eyes. Are you able to see your skill/talent/effort?
Sometimes we do good ;).
Take good care of yourself!
Now I need to ask: do you like sharing this thing you love to do, or do you keep it private?
Some people experience great joy from sharing their creative works with the world... or at least with their close family and friends! If that's you, then you are wonderful (and we appreciate you and your work!). If you are one of those who doesn't want to share your efforts, is it possible that you are too hard on yourself?
For a lot of us, when we do something that represents "us" - especially something creative like writing or art, we go through a strange pattern. That pattern can play out like this: You write something you like and feel fairly proud of it (happy!). Then, shortly thereafter, you hate it and develop doubts and think that it is terrible (very unhappy!). Does this ever happen to you?
Why do we flip flop like this? What changed? Certainly not whatever creative project created. It didn't suddenly get worse. So why does our confidence nosedive after the initial happiness high?
I honestly don't know the answer to that, but I do know that if I leave it alone long enough I can revisit it and then find that I am happy with it again. And fortunately, that satisfaction stays. Is that the way it is for you?
I wish we didn't have to suffer through these crashes of confidence, but the older I get, the more I recognize and understand them. Now I know I just need to ride out the uncomfortable drop, be kind to myself, and appreciate the process. Sure wish I hadn't ripped up so much poetry before I knew that :).
I wrote this little article on confidence on my LinkedIn profile years ago and just "found it" again. And it turns out, it wasn't as awful as I remembered. Interesting ;).
So, does this happen to anyone else? What is that last thing you created?
I am going to challenge everyone to stretch a little - create something and then share it if you can. After that, leave it for a few weeks and then come back with fresh eyes. Are you able to see your skill/talent/effort?
Sometimes we do good ;).
Take good care of yourself!
