Exercise #2 of Stage 4 of the Creativity Journey – Forge Your Path
As you explore your authentic self further and begin to create art from your soul, your fears are going to rear their ugly heads. The more personal the work that you do, the louder those fears are going to start screaming. But their bark is far worse than their bite and you have the strength to face them.
How do you face your fears? Look them hard in the eye and find their weak spot. Take out a piece of paper and something to write with. At the top of the page, name your fear. You can just title it “Fear = X” or you can write it out in more detail. “I am afraid of. . .”
Next, start imagining all of the bad results that you can and list them out. Come up with the worst possible scenarios. My fear goes something like this, “I am afraid that I will never make any money as an artist and:
- I won’t be able to pay my bills
- My car will be repossessed
- My husband will divorce me because I am too much of a burden to him
- I won’t be able to pay a mortgage by myself and I will be homeless. . .
I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
Now, look at each of these possible results and really evaluate them. Are they that likely? What would you do if they came to pass? If my car was repossessed, well, I’m lucky enough to live near a bus. If I can’t pay my mortgage and found myself homeless, my mom would probably take me in. Am I really going to end up on the street, all alone with just the clothes on my back if I pursue a life as an artist? No. And once I put it all down on paper it seems rather ridiculous doesn’t it? I’m embarrassed to even share it with you, but seeing how ridiculous the fear is helps make it disappear. I’ve just faced down a fire-breathing dragon of fear and by turning to fight it instead of running, I realized that it can only breathe fire once and after that, it just coughs smoke. Not so scary after all.
Want to join others on the journey with you? Come to the Creativity Explorers Club on Facebook.
