Being demanding of yourself

At first glance, there is nothing wrong with being demanding of oneself. It’s a quality that might push the person further and achieve more.

But today, I wanted to warn you about the other side of the medal.

If you are (too) demanding of yourself, there are times when it might hurt the development of your creativity. How is that?

It might happen if you start to make art after many years. Being demanding makes you put your expectations higher. And this makes you more vulnerable to your inner critic. Of course, you can’t become a master immediately, but she doesn’t care. She (your inner critic) thrives on the gap between your self-expectations and first results. And she is the bad girl – the one your most creative part fears most.

So how to make your inner critic just shut up?

I’d suggest two things, and neither is easy, but they both work.

Firstly, when you start painting again after a while, frame how you think of your painting as an experiment. Thinking of painting as experimenting is rewarding cause you expect the painting process to fail. Your expectations are low, so there is no room for your inner critic. Boom!

Secondly, before you start to evaluate your work, agree with yourself not to look for what you don’t like. You are absolutely not allowed to do that. Your only goal should be to look for what you like about your work (or process). Then, write down all those things  (and keep evaluating your work this way for several months).

If you are often too demanding of yourself, try to find ways to be gentle to your inner creative little girl. To develop herself into a beautiful artist, she needs to feel safe, loved, and appreciated by you.

You can give that to her.

Hi, I’m Vera …

I help courageous women who want to live better lives reconnect with their inner artists and express themselves through the arts.

Whether they are beginners or experienced creatives who feel drained or stuck, teaching them to open themselves to painting, I help them feel relaxed, fulfilled, focused, ageless and alive!

I am also the founder of the Rabbit the Creator studio (based in Ljubljana, Slovenia/ Europe) and have more than 25 years of experience working as an artist, creative director, and educator.

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