Why do people stop making their art?

Why do people stop making their art?

I think about this question a lot as a coach.

As artists, we know it's vital to make things. It's a fundamental way we take care of ourselves. Making art makes us feel alive and connected. It reminds us who we are. So why do so many creative people stop making their work?

In coaching hundreds of artists, here are the most common reasons I've found:

Loss of time.

Life just got really busy. Maybe your job is super demanding or your family life got crazy. Maybe you have a to-do list the length of your arm. Whatever it is, it's really fucking hard to create time to slow down, sit, and HEAR yourself. Hearing yourself is the first step in doing creative work, and it can be hard to find time to do it.

Loss of energy.

You feel like when you come home from work, there is time, but you have no ENERGY. The idea of getting yourself in the right state of mind to be playful and creative feels impossible. You end up just watching TV instead. You don't really know how to reconnect with that vibrant part of yourself that wants to make something.

Loss of purpose.

Maybe you have the time and energy, but you've lost a sense of direction. What do you want to say in your work? What are you interested in? How should you start? Trying to answer those questions feels too overwhelming. So you don't.

Loss of confidence.

You think: "Even if I had the time and the energy...what's the point? It's all been said and done before! I don't really know what I'm doing! This work is not that good! Real Artists don't have the doubts that I have, so I must not be a Real Artist. If I'm not a Real Artist then what am I even doing?"

Sure, there are other reasons you might stop making art, but in my experience, these are the most common. And when you stop making your creative work, you don't just lose out on a painting, a song, or a piece of writing. You lose out on SO MUCH more than that.

What do you actually lose when you stop making your art?

You lose your self-trust.

You lose your boundaries.

You lose your values.

You lose your sense of purpose.

You lose your intuition.

You lose your voice.

There is a lot more at stake than we realize. I say this from personal experience.

So how do we reconnect with our creative work when our time/energy/confidence is low?

That's the work we do in our coaching program. We start small. We build habits. We work gently through blocks. We give you a sustainable process to get you unblocked and reconnected. We help you experience real creative momentum...again and again.

If this connects, come to our free workshop on overcoming creative roadblocks.

Come find your way back to your creative work.