There have been various times in my life when I sabotaged my best creative intentions.
I procrastinated and failed to complete creative projects. I missed important deadlines. I focused on negative experiences rather than on positive ones. And I generally failed to do what I desired to do in order to gain the rewards of my efforts.
If this sounds like you, then you’re probably sabotaging your creativity and your creative pursuits.
And if so, then you’re also probably frustrated and dissatisfied with your creative work and with yourself as an artist. More significantly, you may be deeply unhappy and even believe that you’re incapable of being creative in effective and skilled ways.
So, how do you stop being a saboteur of your creative work, start succeeding in your artistic pursuits, and find the happiness and satisfaction inherent to creativity?
What is Creative Sabotage?
Creative self-sabotage is not the result of a lack of skills, knowledge, desire or even effort.
Rather, it’s the result of how we think about ourselves as artists and how we view our creativity and our creative work.
Self-sabotage feeds off of bad creative habits, such as perfectionism, a reluctance to take risks, negative thinking, and self-deprecation. Also, it stems from a range of uncomfortable feelings such as fear, sadness, and anger. And it tends to highlight low self-esteem and our insecurities as artists.
Despite the tenacity of these problems, I’ve found that there are ways to shift sabotage to success, and it’s a lot easier than you might think. Read the rest of the article at poetryNprogress.
So glad you enjoyed the article, Joyce! Yes, there are so many "traps" that we as artists and as women artists in particular can fall into, especially when we feel disempowered. This piece was precisely about encouraging artists to take power for themselves. Your reference to the Serenity Prayer suggests the surrender, acceptance, and ultimately faith required to write and to create art. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Ami. Excellent. Excellent. Amen. Amen. If only it will sink in. Getting those skills, knowledge and the right stuff will make artists, women especially, see that they have their own power, desire, talent, and they only have to compete with themselves by one-upping their last project. Everything else falls into place. Why put underhandedness, jealous acts, and back-bitting out there when we have no control over it. Serenity Prayer, please.