Following the creative path to live a creative life isn’t always an easy instant road to success. You’re going to put in the effort and hard work so you’ll no doubt get there but like any journey there will be challenges to face and obstacles to overcome to become who you want to be. Whether you’re a current art student at college, just graduated from university or are bettering your creative practice in your own time with the aspiration of running your own business there’s one teeny tiny obstacle we all have niggling away inside called “expectations”.
Expectations can be anything from aims you set to accomplishments and standards you may put on yourself or those that people around you may have of you themselves but today I’m going to cover self expectations. Having expectations in general isn’t a bad thing as they give you points to work on and creative insight into ways you’d like to grow.
However sometimes when we set such high aims to reach and aspiring results to follow, when we fall short it can really knock us down and sometimes make you second guess what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. You may find yourself questioning whether you did something right, whether your skills are at their best , if you met the brief you were set and whether you can be as good as the next guy the list goes on and you’re not alone in thinking so.
However amongst all this expectation you also need to be your biggest motivator and you need to brush yourself off and tell yourself “Believe you can and you will achieve all you set out to”. I believe you can achieve anything if you put the effort and the hard work into all that you do, although one thing you must truly believe in is yourself. Remember these few things when you feel your inner expectations are clouding your creative motivation;
1. Your work is surely to be at its best when you are as well.
2. Everyone’s story and journey is different don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.
3. A success is to be perceived through your own eyes, however if you don’t try you’ll never know how far you could have gone.
Featured image created by designer Stephanie Ryan and you can find out more about her and her beautiful designs “here” .