Courage & Confidence
Like me, most creatives have moments of fear with their work.
Fear of failure, fear of judgement, fear of not being able to support their family, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, fear of burnout, fear of wasting time.
The list could go on, and on.
As creatives, we naturally think deeply about what we do, and as a result, we can get caught in our heads and become paralysed by analysis.
Thinking deeply about what we do is so important, but overthinking to the point of paralysis is not.
One thing that has helped me push through some of my own limiting beliefs and fears with my creative work was realising the difference between confidence and courage.
I often waited around for confidence before starting something. For example, starting an email newsletter or online community, speaking to the camera, cold emailing, and posting videos on YouTube.
All these things feel hard at first, so we sit around and wait for that elusive feeling of confidence before starting.
But here's something to know,
Confidence is the historical evidence that you have done something already. This means that waiting around for confidence to develop by itself will not work. We need to deploy something else to empower us to start something new despite our nerves, fears and anxiety.
That thing is courage.
Courage is the boldness to get uncomfortable and push into something new despite not knowing what will happen. Courage is the vehicle that will take your creative convictions and ideas and transport them into reality. Courage is the energy to start something for the first time despite fear of the outcomes. Confidence will be built once you can reflect on what you have done, knowing you can do it again.
The world is waiting for creatives to show courage, be bold, and follow their wonderful creative ideas. Here's an encouragement for you to deploy courage and go after it!
