Being more confident.

Green mirror (hands) 2021.

If you know me, you know that I love to ask a lot of questions.

This happens mostly when I meet someone new. I wanna know what you're all about! Sometimes people find it kind of overwhelming. But it comes from a genuine place of being so. damn. curious.

So when I come across a really good, juicy question, I gotta share it. Here's one I came across recently:

If you had 50% more confidence, what would you be doing differently as an artist?

Oooooooo so good, right?

Let's think about it. If you had more confidence in your art, what would you do differently?

Share your work more?
Apply to a scary opportunity?
Try a new medium?
Invite someone into your studio?
Ask for funding?

We all wish we had more confidence. Even the most confident among us still feels like they have room to grow in this area. So how do we cultivate confidence in our art, when we're just starting out?

First let's talk about what confidence is exactly. I've talked about this before.

Confidence is our ability to create space for any possible emotion -- rejection, sadness, frustration, jealousy. Your confidence allows you to create space for those emotions and not let those emotions determine whether or not you continue to pursue your work. If you get rejected from an open call, your confidence helps you apply again. If you get frustrated with a project, your confidence helps you work through the roadblock.

How do we build our confidence as artists?

While you may not be feeling confident as an artist right now, there is likely an area of your life where you DO feel confident -- a place where you trust yourself 100%. This is an area where you can sit with the uncertainty of a moment and feel OK with not getting the results you want immediately. You're patient with yourself and others.

What is this area of your life? Is it your role as a parent, manager, teacher, cook, writer, therapist, or yogi?

Name the area of your life where confidence seems to come easily to you and channel that energy when you're making your art. When the negative self-talk comes up, channel that confidence. When the self-editing comes up, channel that confidence.

Sometimes we have to trick ourselves in order to overcome our most troublesome roadblocks. Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Psst: if you’re picking up what I’m putting down, sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter, A Mighty Practice:

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