Everybody knows that the journey of becoming an artist is a hard one, but rarely do they explain why.
Most people would say the reason lies somewhere along the lines of ‘nobody buys art anymore’.
The truth of why you struggle to be an artist is much more in your control than the desires of other people.
The struggling artist
We get loud when we are winning, and we turn quiet when we aren’t.
Open up your social media any time of the day and you will see a plethora of moments and creations people are celebrating.
What you won’t find is people at their lowest points.
You will not see artists at the beginning of their journey and how long it took before results came in.
You won’t see artists in the transitioning phase of their career and how bumpy, scary, and lonely it was.
This creates two major forces:
- a constant stream of information from the outside world about how everyone else is winning, and
- growing feelings of inadequacy and failure that storm within you.
Then, from that place of fragmented vision, you go on and make judgments about where you belong in this world.
You look back at yourself, and doubts and insecurities only grow.
What you are left with is inconsistency, and a nagging thought: “I can’t make this work”.
The real work of an artist
The journey of becoming an artist isn’t just to learn the technical skills and becoming proficient in practicing your craft.
To an equal extent, or perhaps even larger, it’s about taking your artistic potential and putting it at the forefront of who you are.
The tasks you are doing aren’t ‘evolving your craft, making a website, or marketing your art’.
The actual task you are doing is breaking through old beliefs that oppose the idea:
- of you having artistic abilities;
- of you offering value to people;
- of you deserving to take up space;
- of you having something important to say;
- of you being worthy of calling yourself an artist.
The big challenge of creating an artistic career isn’t how to break into the market – it’s how to break through the old identity that still believes you don’t deserve to call yourself an artist.
A process of removing layers
The core objective of becoming an artist is the internal battles within ourselves.
For that reason, an artist’s essential responsibility is:
- learning how to not be drowned in the noise from the outside,
- becoming immune to external shoulds and imposed rules,
- remaining authentic to yourself and your deep inner voice.
The journey of becoming an artist is a process of removing layers that aren’t yours.
It’s not the pursuit of attaining something external, but the awakening of that which has been lying dormant for too long.
War of whispers
The enemy you are trying to conquer isn’t ‘oversaturated market, algorithm, or people don’t value art anymore’ – it’s the intrusive thoughts that roam freely in your mind.
Those internal whispers that act as silent killers of our dreams and talents, and eat the potential we carry within.
You are struggling with inconsistency and a lack of discipline because somewhere deep down you, have a belief that is quietly convincing you how you can’t, shouldn’t, and won’t make it happen.
How you simply don’t deserve it.
Beliefs as such have roots that run deeper than what we can imagine. They were built and reinforced for years.
Breaking them apart will be an equally long journey.
Beyond the horizon
Every single thought and step you take that teaches you how valuable your creative endeavours are and how strongly you deserve to express your voice – matters.
Regardless of how small, each piece plays a vital role in the process of transforming old beliefs into something new.
Slowly, you are loosening up chains until they reach a breaking point.
Slowly, you are forming a new neural network that becomes a foundation for the life you wish to have.
So go easier on yourself.
Remember that the work you do is much deeper and larger than what it appears on the outside.
You are teaching your subconscious mind that you are indeed full of value and potential, and that there is a place here reserved just for you.
It may take more time than you’d like, but the reward is priceless.
Once you learn how to tame those whispers, your eyes immediately and naturally fix on the horizon.
The path opens up.
It may not be obstacle-free, but for once, it’s solution-oriented, and anchored deeply in the possibility.
P.S. I have something new and exciting coming up that is created specifically for the artists that seek to deepen and expand their creative expression. So stay tuned : )
