FEAR, THAT UGLY COMPANION WE'D LIKE TO DITCH
In recent responses to our survey, the word fear kept popping up--fear of failure, afraid to ruining the piece, fear of criticism from others, fear of the drawing process--and these are just a
few, but you get the gist.
I won't pretend to be the guru that knows the magic formula for getting rid of that fear, but I've had enough experience with it myself to make a couple of suggestions that have a chance of chipping
away at it.
Okay, let's face it: fear comes from thoughts stuck in your head. Whether they are conscious or unconscious thoughts, they are stuck
there and you know it every time the fear grabs you in the pit of your tummy. Where else would it come from if not from your head?
In my experience when a fear hits, my choice is either to let it keep its control over me or kick it in the shins. I do have a
choice. If it's been with me for the past seven decades, I might be so comfortable with it that I prefer to keep using it as "just who I am" and let it be. But if it is preventing me from doing something I really want to do, I can choose to delete it from my universe and clear the path to what I want. It's not easy, but it IS possible.
- If I'm fearful because I don't know how, there are plenty of places, especially on the internet, where I can learn the how of the thing.
- If I'm fearful because I've been told I don't have what it takes, I can doggedly take an attitude to prove them wrong (believe me, I'm an expert at this!).
- If I'm fearful because of some handicap, I can find a way around it. (I'm an expert at this, too. I confess I am a diagnosed dyslexic).
- If I'm fearful because somebody will disapprove, I can make a firm decision that their opinion doesn't count (unless I want to allow them to have that kind of control over me).
- If I'm fearful and don't know why, I do know the answer is within me because I wasn't born with that fear--it was given to me. I can write about it without censoring myself and sooner or later, the answer will pop up. (I always shred these because it's nobody else's business.)
2: MAKE A COMMITMENT TO YOURSELF
You are the only YOU in this universe and YOU are unique in that. Knowing this is deserving of making a commitment to your own
worthiness. And THAT adds up to your being able to give yourself the freedom from fear of doing whatever you--in the depths of your being--really want to do.
WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT
Reading biographies of the greats, we discover that they too had/have their own fears. There are the greats though, and there are
the rest of us. Our lives and dreams are no less important then theirs. As my father used to say, we all put on our britches one leg at a time. So next time (and it might be five minutes from now) any fear grabs you, why not kick it to the curb and find a way to do the thing you want to do, be it drawing, painting, sculpting, playing the guitar or just making your own pizza.
P.S. Have you read Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland?
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