Embracing doubt

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In any creative pursuit, you can be certain to find yourself in moments of doubt. It’s part of the territory and often leaves us feeling stuck and questioning why we bother do this at all.

Slowly, fear sets in and sparks those feelings of comparison and imposter syndrome, feeding the vicious cycle that is the life of a creative – all stress and self-doubt and agony! If we could just be left-brained and logical!

But – what happens if we embrace this doubt?

What if, when we feel it creep in, we just keep going. We allow it to appear in whatever way it needs to. It may come as mistakes, fear and anger in our work. But it may also invigorate our work with a sense of energy and honesty, drawing the audience in and creating connection. It could even make us try something new, and that’s always welcome.

For me, to surrender to doubt and allow it, I feel braver and the fear dissipates. I learn to let go and make room for creativity that comes from a place of joy and authenticity. And most of the time this works, because by going with what is, the artworks resolve themselves. But let’s be honest – they definitely do not all resolve themselves. I have a bunch of unfinished pieces in my studio waiting for that doubt-embracing final touch! But again, I choose to roll with it.

I think we just need to take the pressure off. Give ourselves a break because art is just art right? It’s supposed to be FUN.

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