The noise only becomes more intense these days. We make it our mission to say and do the things that we think others expect from us. We all want to be validated, appreciated and accepted for what we are. Except we end up being everything else but our true self. The noise intensifies and mutes our inner voice and that only leaves us feeling empty and nothing more than an imposter.
So how do we do this? How can we start listening to what our creative self knows best? How do we find our creative voice?
By no means am I an expert to the subject and I’m still searching for an answer to this questions, but this very need to find an answer or at least a good advice, led me to numerous books, videos and podcasts that explore ways in how someone can grow as a creator. Below are three ideas that I’m trying to embrace and live with and hopefully will help you in your own unique journey too.
-Embrace the qualities that make you unique
The thing is, we’re all weird. Every single one of us have his own kind of weirdness. These very quirks that we often hate or feel insecure for, are the things that make us interchangeable though. Most of us, tried to consistently bury those deep, because we never saw them as an advantage.
Maybe we should ask ourselves some questions in order to resurface inner qualities long forgotten :
What are my unique qualities that make me different than anyone else?
What am I skilled at?
What am I enjoying doing when no-one is looking?
What gives me purpose?
-Focus on what you can control and make better
We can’t control if someone likes our work, the number of followers we have, the economy or the market. What we can control though is refining our craft or learning a new skill. After all, personal development is an incredible journey and the best investment of all.
- Show up and do the work
Especially in this day and age, we’re used in scrolling down feeds of amazing artists and designers and we all see their finished work and projects. We imagine that they were as talented and prolific and confident from day one, back when they’ve started. Nobody sees what’s underneath all of that. Everyone of our heroes have struggled and continue to struggle. Everyone of our heroes experience the same feelings of insecurity about the work that they create. That fact actually is the most hopeful thing, because it makes it obvious that finding your voice isn’t an experience that’s reserved for a few super talented people. It’s something that if you show up and you’re disciplined enough to keep showing up and work in decreasing the gap between your current skills and where you want to be you’ll find it. You’ll find your voice. So make creativity a habit. Work on getting better everyday. You’ll suck at first but nothing gets better without effort. Make it a priority to carve blocks of your time for that very specific thing you want to get better at. The harder thing of all is always to start.
-Embrace fear
Your life, experiences and personal struggle are to be celebrated and will show in your work. You can’t find your voice without exploration. Dare to experiment and see failure as an opportunity to become better. Developing your artistic skill is very similar to learning a language. Because you have to get to the point where you develop artistic fluency and then things start flow for you but until you get to that point there is struggle. You have to be in the struggle and get better in embracing it because that never entirely goes away. It just gets easier.
A kind reminder: What separates those of us who have made professional careers from the people who think of building one but do nothing, is that we have gotten good at sitting in the fear.