How To Build Your Confidence As An Artist
HOW TO BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE AS AN ARTIST
By Chris Mitchell, Life, Career and Professional Development Coach for Artists and Creatives
Have you ever found yourself shying away from putting yourself forward for opportunities that you aspire to, doubting your capabilities or even hesitating to call yourself a “real” artist?
If so, you are not alone. “I need help to build (or regain) my confidence” is something I regularly hear from artists in various stages of their career. Trust me, even well established artists and creative professionals express to me they lack confidence in themselves suddenly or situationally. Personally, I’ve found my own confidence lagging at moments when I’m out of my comfort zone or I’ve taken a leap to evolve my creative work or take a new direction. And so I appreciate from my own personal experience and coaching others how challenging it can be to move forward as an artist or creative professional when you are lacking confidence.
Here are a few strategies that have worked for me and my clients to build confidence.
FOUR STRATEGIES TO BUILD CONFIDENCE AS AN ARTIST
Build on Your Strengths and Skills to Build Your Confidence as an Artist:
It’s common to focus on what we lack in strengths and skills and to feel that if we can improve in these areas it will help us build confidence and get ahead. And yes, we can benefit from addressing our weaknesses. But often there is more to gain from leveraging and building on the strengths and skills we are already good at. Start by listing your skills and strengths. This could include:
- Skills you’ve developed
- Things that come naturally to you
- Capabilities other people recognize in you
Literally write these things down! Just seeing the list on paper is validating and gives a confidence boost. Then, identify your top strengths and brainstorm, in bullet points, how you can draw on these strengths in areas or specific situations where you are currently lacking confidence as an artist.
Tip - Even if a top strength doesn’t seem relevant, use your creativity to think out of the box.
Challenge Yourself to Build Confidence as an Artist: The act of doing builds confidence. Ask yourself, "What is a challenge I can set for myself?" This could be something small that helps you prove your abilities. Taking on and overcoming challenges, even minor ones, can significantly boost your confidence.
Cultivate a Growth Mindset to Build Confidence as an Artist: As artists and creatives, we spend a lot of time in our own heads. The questions we dwell on can have a profound impact on our confidence. Think about it. We have all experienced those moments when we are excited about a new creative or career direction or putting ourselves forward for a new professional opportunity, ready to take the risk. Then we start to ask ourselves questions like “what if I’m not good at it?”, “what if I fail miserably?”, “what if I embarrass myself?”, ”what will other people think?” - I’m sure you have your own examples popping into your head that you could add to this list. The impact of asking ourselves these questions is that we begin to fill our heads with doubt and we literally talk ourselves out of taking steps in that new direction, creating the proposal, sending the email. Consider what questions you tend to ask yourself repeatedly. Notice what is happening or not happening in your creative practice, business and life as a result of asking yourself these questions.
I have introduced author and coach Marilee Adams’ “Question Thinking” methodology from her bestselling book "Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 10 Powerful Tools for Life and Work" to many of my artist clients to help them cultivate a growth mindset. Marliee’s thinking is that the kinds of questions like the ones I’ve shared above, stop us in our tracks and limit our creativity and opportunities for growth. And they literally drain our confidence!
As artists we can cultivate a growth mindset by generating more positive and constructive questions to ask ourselves. For example:
- “What assumptions am I making?”
- “What’s important to me about trying this new direction?”
- “What could go right?”
- “What can I learn even if I don’t succeed immediately?”
- “What do I need to focus on?”
These questions can shift our mindset from doubt to potential, fostering a more confident approach to our work.
Focus on Your Own Progress and Journey: Admiring other artists can be inspiring, but comparing yourself to them can be detrimental. Focus on your own progress and growth. Reflect daily, weekly, or monthly on your achievements and the challenges you've overcome. This practice can help you recognize your progress and capabilities and build confidence.
A client once shared a quote with me by American writer Lidia Yuknavitch:
“In case anyone else out there who has devoted their adult life to making art and creating art communities/opportunities needs to hear this, there are HUNDREDS of paths to making a literary/artist life. Some are high-octane business models. Some are collaborative community-building models. Some are solo, weaving art into daily life. Some paths provide financial success, some offer connections, fame, sustainability, or spiritual growth. ALL of them are legitimate and beautiful.”
Finally, in closing, my sense is that if you are reading this, you ARE someone who is making art. Which means you ARE an artist. I hope you feel inspired to experiment with these strategies to build your confidence.
About the Author
Chris Mitchell is a professional coach providing collaborative, results-oriented support to artists and creatives at pivotal points in their careers. With over three decades of leadership experience in creative and arts-based businesses and non-profit organizations, she helps artists build sustainable and fulfilling lives as creative professionals. Chris holds a BFA and is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coaches Federation. Based in Toronto, Canada, she works with clients across Canada, the U.S., and globally.
Learn more and contact https://www.chrismitchell-lifecoach.com
Read more articles like this on Chris’ blog https://www.chrismitchell-lifecoach.com/blog
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