We all have doubts and worry about what other people might say about what we do. The same applies to any form of artistic or creative thought and practical processes.  Do I care?  Not any more…

The fears of being creative aare something we hold onto and it prevents us from feeling and being who we truly are destined to be. Amazing, wonderful, kind, eccentric, unique individuals who love to breathe new life into ‘stuff’! Creative people are real.  They are healers in their own way because when we invite people to share our passion, we form relationships around common experiences, we relate to their original works of art, and we connect on a deeper level that says, you are not alone.

Seven common barriers facing creatives:

1. Judgement from family and friends.
2. Exposing ourselves in a most vulnerable way.
3. Sharing information with others who do not resonate with our work.
4. Confronting ourselves to the worthiness of our work.
5. Am I good enough? Will it sell? Will others like it?
6. Isolating ourselves from our friends and family while we create.
7. Constant interruption and other peoples expectations.

Dealing with the barriers that we face every day can be overwhelming. I would like to tell you that I managed to overcome all of them at once – but I would be lying.  But there is one overarching solution that you may like to try. Stop listening to the voices in your head that are telling you that you can’t, you are not good enough…blah blah blah! Why do we do that? When you read the last two sentences out loud you will see that it’s actually our own voice, that holds us back.  How do we know we are not good enough if we don’t give ourselves time to create something that people can look at? And just because someone else’s taste in art is different to ours, why do we allow the space to interfere with what we like?

Take each of the common barriers and deal with it in a way that works for you.  Understand that friends and family have a different view from yours, they do not see or feel what you do.  What they will say about your creativity is how they feel, hot how you feel.  Let them have their opinions, but don’t lose yours as a result.  Be polite, be nice, but stand up for what you know in your crazy creative heart is what you want to do. Don’t give them space in your head, after all there’s not a lot of room left with all those new projects, colours, textures and processes that are scrambling to find their way out! I say walk away and go to your wee creative space. Start creating something.

Go forth and CREATE I say!  Do something that you love doing every day, or plan time to indulge so you have uninterrupted time and space to let your imagination go crazy.  Go on – Do IT!