3 Ways To Overcome Creative Anxiety
“Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity.” - T.S. Eliot
Life is tough, and even tougher for an artist. As artistic people, we all know and understand the highs and lows that come with being a creative person. Whether you are a writer, painter, sculptor, or chef, creating fine works of art for the masses to enjoy can seem like a grueling task with each new project we undertake. The reason creating something new can seem difficult to us is due to what the world terms creative anxiety.
For those of you who do not know, creative anxiety is the anxious feeling that stifles creativity even before the moment of creation. It can be a great hindrance to many an artist out there, preventing the advent of a new piece of art due to low morale and insecurities that creep into the mind of a creative individual. Over time, if left unaddressed, this anxiety can grow substantially to a point where it completely negates the creative juices that flow through an artist’s brain and stops them from being creative entirely.
That being said, there are a number of ways to counteract the feelings of creative anxiety, and we sincerely hope that these methods prove useful to all the creative individuals out there:
1. Silence your inner critic
As artists, we are no strangers to criticisms being levied against us. However, as much as most criticisms come from an external source, they can, at the very same time, come from our internal selves, making them all the more difficult to overcome. This is why it is important to silence our inner critics when creating a work of art. We must understand that we are, at the very least, creators first, and this should give us the necessary motivation to go on creating without having the voice inside our own heads hinder us from creating a new work of art.
2. Remember that nothing is perfect
Like any work of art, it will never be perfect, and this, in turn, becomes a source of anxiety for many creatives out there. The unattainable goal of creating something that is “perfect” plagues most creatives, only resulting in them not being able to be satisfied with their work. This is why it is important to remember that nothing in this world is perfect and that everything is relative to each specific individual. By knowing this, artists would feel less anxious about chasing the unrealistic “perfect” work of art, and instead, just continue to create something new.
3. Remember to take breaks
Everybody needs a break at some point, and more so if you are a creative person. As the process of creating something wholly new can be both physically and mentally taxing, it is strongly advised that artists take necessary breaks from time to time to reduce the chances of creative anxiety enveloping them. We, as creative people, must remember that there is no time limit on creativity, for it is a process that takes a lot of time and effort to accomplish. Therefore, breaks need to be taken, in order to lessen the stress on the creative mind and keep those creative juices flowing.
Anxiety and creativity go hand in hand, but with the right approach towards a creative task, we can be certain that we are not inundated with the likes of creative anxiety to jeopardize the quality of our artisanal work, whether it be for ourselves or the world to see.