Face The Fear of Artistic Failure in 6 Steps: Uncanny Creativity 31

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Part of being a successful artist is knowing that you’re going to fail and having the tools to deal with it. Fear of failure can negatively impact motivation and attitude to learn, according to a study led by the Bilkent University (Turkey). Those who expressed a higher degree of fear about failing were less likely to adopt goals for personal interest and development. They were also more likely to cheat and less likely to learn. How can we handle our fear as part of the process of success?

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Thomas Edison

Step 1: What are some realistic or helpful views?

Test the beliefs that cause your fear. Psychcentral.com gives the following tips to avoid perfectionist thoughts: First, identify the perfectionist thoughts. Then list alternative thoughts, thinking about the pros and cons of both the original thoughts and your internal. Now with your choices in mind you’re empowered to pick a more realistic or helpful view.

Step 2: What did I learn?

Redefine success as learning. If your aim is learn, according to Forbes magazine, you’re always succeeding and never technically fail.

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.”
-Henry Ford

Step 3: What are the positive things?

Try to see yourself as positive and practice gratitude. The field of psychology has moved away just treating mental illness. Almost 1,000 articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2010 focused on well-being, pride, forgiveness, happiness, mindfulness and psychological strength according to the American Psychology Association.

While positivity doesn’t solve everything, there’s growing research showing there are benefits. We don’t have to be roaring smiling optimists.  Every glass full is half empty and half full. Acknowledge both. On a truly bad day where things really did go wrong, can we still see what good is happening?

Step 4: What am I afraid of?

Allow yourself to be afraid, recognize that it’s common and manageable. According to research by UC Berkeley psychology professor Martin Covington, the fear of failure is directly linked to your self-worth. Noticing that we can face the feeling of fear, that it’s not really the end of the world, makes us less likely to avoid it. According to the book Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendrix, this fear is a holdover from our primitive ancestors when fear kept us alive.

Step 5: What am I willing to do?

Emphasize effort instead of current ability. A study by the University of NC Greensboro found that those who emphasize effort over natural ability are motivated more to succeed.

Step 6: How can I be kind to myself?

Encourage self compassion.  Research also found those who practice self-compassion recover more quickly from failure and are likely to try new things.
What would you say to encourage a friend? Treat yourself as a friend by being kind to yourself, remind yourself that you’re not alone, and by being mindful and present in the current moment as if you were an outside and loving observer. To be a success we must decide that success is possible.

“All boundaries are conventions, waiting to be transcended. One may transcend any convention if only one can first conceive of doing so.” – David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas.

Rewrite your story with these questions

  1. What are some realistic or helpful views?
  2. What did I learn?
  3. What are the positive things?
  4. What am I afraid of?
  5. What am I willing to do?
  6. How can I be kind to myself?

 

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

Picking Up Where You Left Off: Uncanny Creativity 30

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Sticking with your hobbies and side projects is tough at times. We have so much going on in our lives and trying to fit in all of the things we want is a challenge. We can fit it all in, just not at the same time. What is the key to doing everything?

Prioritizing. Inconsistency with your timing is okay. It’s going to happen. This is an opportunity to evaluate where you’re spending your time. Make real decisions to change who and what you spend you time on. It has to come from somewhere. If you’re not sure where the time goes. Decide clearly what your individual needs are. Needs are food, water, and shelter. Television, travel, and even time with loved ones are not actually needs. Evaluate how you get your needs. You do need to eat, yet you don’t have to prepare a three course dinner seven days a week for your family. Are there ways to change your wants to shift your time and create time for your hobby?

“I never put off till tomorrow what I can possibly do – the day after.”
― Oscar Wilde

Roadblocks. Do you really want to do it at all. Dedicate time to what you can. In the beginning, just concentrate on spend five minutes a day to each of your problems. Read and research always makes me feel better about tackling most problems. Don’t get stuck in the research phase though! Write down ideas and notes where ever you are. I use my sketchbook or my smart phone to jot notes where ever I am. This isn’t just research at that point, it’s planning.

Tell everyone you know. Encourage support from your friends and family. Be positive even if you’re afraid of other people’s reactions. You know it’s important to you no matter how people react. Directly ask them motivate you and accept any matter what response they have as an incentive to continue.

Cut yourself slack. If you miss your deadline, skip a day, just make a new plan Are the problems really bigger than the successes? They may feel that way sometimes, yet in reality what’s “important” is really just an illusion of our minds

The next step. Figure out one next step you can do. One step. This could be to write down your plans. If I’m a painter, what do I need to really do to make this happen. Start simple! If you dive in with  elaborate goals, you’ll be discourage. Maybe even the goal is too daunting. Perhaps today I won’t start the Mona Lisa. How about if I just scribbling what I see around me on a piece of paper. Make your first steps as simple as possible. Jot down your next step ideas so when you have a free moment you can just do one.

What is stopping you from meeting your goal? Stop looking for that “new” idea to answer this question. Look to  what you know, what you’re already confident about.  Thin about what you’ve done well and return to it. This podcast is one of the more popular things I’ve done. It works. People like it. So here I am. When you take breaks, take a moment to think what your next step might be.

“Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can’t buy more hours. Scientists can’t invent new minutes. And you can’t save time to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you’ve wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow.”
― Denis Waitley

Finally, make sure you have fun! Sometimes we all are too serious about our hobbies and goals. If you miss out on a goal or deadline, you can just start on your new goal. Let yourself have fun.

Uncanny Creativity is an art productivity podcast helping you to be more imaginative everyday. Brian E. Young is a magazine art director and artist in Baltimore, Maryland. If you have a design and creativity question I can help answer, send me your letters by e-mail, Facebook or Twitter.

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

How to Collaborate More Effectively: Uncanny Creativity 29

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Teamwork isn’t always easy. Yet, we work with others because we know the final product will benefit from everyone’s unique expertise. We can’t work it alone. As a designer, I’m better off with an editor, a project manager, client input, and any other feedback that is available. Those perspectives and skills just offer more than I could on my own.

The first thing that I keep in mind when collaborating is to focus on giving constructive criticism. This means that I feel my input is helpful and positive. I try to exchange ideas without trying to change the other persons mind. These are my suggestions and I know others can take them or leave them.

Avoid arguing and interrupting others. The key to doing that is listening. Listen and let yourself understand that this person is saying what they feel is right from their own experience.

Suspend untested assumptions. Look and listen for the untested statements among your team. Ask the questions: how do we know? Why do feel this is true for this project?

Be honest even if it’s controversial. We have to let others our truth and let them react. They may have good responses to our concerns. Voicing them allows them to be addressed. Avoid negative thinking and nay saying such as adding it can’t be done, it’s been done, it’s too early, it’s too late. These are all easy to overcome by asking or answering why. If it can’t be done, state the reasoning you feel this is a difficulty.

Common Collaboration Mistakes

There are some fairly collaboration mistakes that we can avoid:

Avoid assuming you knowing the outcomes. Rather than assume, provide a next step that tests whether this guess will happen or not. The client won’t like the idea? Only the client knows that.

Avoid demonstrations that show you’re in charge without adding to the project. If you have the final say, there is no threat in listening to ideas. Use opportunities to direct and validate what you can, yet keep focused on the next steps for the project and not on the team structure.

Avoid changing everything. Look at what is working, the positives of how things already are, and keep what you are sure does work. There’s no need to reinvent every wheel completely. Focus on what is broke and how to make those aspects improved.

Avoid doing nothing out of fear to contribute. Every member of a team is there because their opinion is valued. Assert your value. Relax, there is some trust in your judgement just by your presence.

Avoid not getting to know people well enough. Whether the team is connecting for a short meeting or for years, it’s a good idea to have some personal interaction. See your team as human flesh and blood people. This can be the slight small talk at the beginning or end of a meeting, a brief mention of the weather, your hometown, or an experience. Those minor personalizations help others empathize with your ideas and make your points that much more effective.

Avoid not taking responsibility. Any outcome from a group project reflects on all of his members. When things go wrong, everyone is equally to blame. After all, the group has allowed it to happen. In any interaction, all parties are responsible for the ultimate outcomes. Sure the largest portions may have started as one person’s idea, yet it’s the team that implemented and enabled that to happen. Accepting responsibility will empower your involvement in all parts of the process.

You may also want to hear my story of how collaboration went terribly wrong: 6 Dos and Don’t for Killer Creative Teams: Confessions of a Bad Team Player

What are some of your experiences working with others? What did you learn in the process? Share in the comments!

Uncanny Creativity is an art productivity podcast helping you to be more imaginative everyday. Brian E. Young is a magazine art director and artist in Baltimore, Maryland. If you have a design and creativity question I can help answer, send me your letters by e-mail, Facebook or Twitter.

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

Translating Inspiration: Uncanny Creativity 28

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Sometimes we are so inspired by the work of others, yet we can’t quite capture what they’ve done into our own work. Making something new using inspiration can be a tricky business. Here are some tips to make it work

Think of your audience. How can you make something accessible for the audience that you tap into.

Copying or plagiarism? That is the dangerous ground that we all fear. We want people to see the genius of our influences. Yet don’t want to be derivative. Take part of the work, not the whole composition. Try just taking the color scheme, for example. Ask yourself what you like about it and what doesn’t work.

Play on different variations on the aspect you liked until you find something new. Remember your voice, review your work for trends. Imitate and then iterate. Look at inspiration in different mediums then you’re own. Think about the inspiration piece in terms of visual associations.  How does the subject matter relate to the style and elements. How can you use those types of relationships in your work.

Working with and against cliche. Is the intention of your work to be a commentary on a cliche. The point of inspirations is to unlock your own creativity in ways you haven’t before. Put away the inspiration once you have started and push it in new directions.

Uncanny Creativity is an art productivity podcast helping you to be more imaginative everyday. Hosted by Brian E. Young, a magazine art director and artist in Baltimore, Maryland.

If you have a design and creativity question I can help answer, send me your letters by e-mail, Facebook or Twitter.

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

How to be More Creative Everyday: Uncanny Creativity 27

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With a little imagination, you can make creative thinking a daily habit. I’ve talked about creative writing before, and beyond that we can just write out our thoughts. Keep a journal on your phone or on paper. Trying means occasionally failing. Notice your failures and practice being okay with it. It’s no big deal. Fear of failure is something that prohibits all of us from failing. Look for inspirations from your heroes, admire their work and vicariously live with through them. This is a great opportunity to say dream! Find little new things you can do. Even just using new words. Language is a powerful thing.

Tweet this: How can we be more creative everyday? #podcast via @sketchee

Uncanny Creativity is an art productivity podcast helping you to be more imaginative everyday. Hosted by Brian E. Young, a magazine art director and artist in Baltimore, Maryland.

If you have a design and creativity question I can help answer, send me your letters by e-mail, Facebook or Twitter.

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.