What if it’s not good? I’ll never be as good as that other artist. I should give up, it already looks bad. These and similar thoughts can stop artists right in their tracks when it comes to creating art.
Overthinking is a problem that many artists face, regardless of their skill level and experience. Despite being intuitive and passion‐driven, artists are oftentimes their own harshest critics.
This mental loop of negative thoughts (that scientists also refer to as rumination) can cause art anxiety and depression. That means artists may become scared to make art. While that may sound illogical to people who never experienced that feeling, it is something real and not uncommon in the art world.
If you don’t learn how to stop overthinking art, you might soon experience creative paralysis.
More often than not, perfectionism is at the root of art anxiety. Trying to make our art perfect is one of the biggest pitfalls that we all face on our way to creating something.
How to stop art anxiety?
Well, the bad news is that our brains are wired for negativity. About 60% of the time, we see the glass as half-empty, rather than half-full.
For us artists that means that we are more inclined to look for confirmation that our art is bad, rather than amazing. This is especially the case if we have received negative feedback in the past.
Many artists put their inner self on display with the art they create. That makes them vulnerable to how people react. Understandably, unconstructive criticism and downright mean comments can hurt. It is not easy, but learning to deal with that is part of every artist’s journey. Here are 8 tips how to build creative confidence.
Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.
Stay inspired all year long!
Closely connected to that is the fear that no one likes your art. Nowadays, many artists believe that the number of likes and comments they receive on social media determines the success of their art. If they get only a few likes, they assume their art must be ‘bad’.
This is an easy trap to fall into, because we have become so accustomed to that ‘social reward system’. A lot of likes means something is good, while few likes are linked to failure and rejection. This is what we are being programmed to think.
However, when you take a step back and look at it objectively, you will realize that there are many other factors that determine your ‘popularity’ on social media. The algorithms play a huge role, the hashtags you are using, whether you are active on a regular basis or just posting randomly, etc.
Regardless of that, you should never determine the true value of your art by what people say about it or whether they ‘like’ it or not.
An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success.
HENRI MATISSE
How to stop overthinking art?
Perfectionism and the fear of rejection are two of the most common reasons why artists overthink their art. But there are many more.
We cannot talk about all the reasons why artists may stress out about their art. But luckily, there are a few things you can try to tackle your art anxiety.
Here are 5 tips to stop overthinking art that I personally find very helpful. Hopefully, they can help you, too!
5 Tips on how to stop overthinking art
TIP #1: Figure out why exactly you are overthinking.
‘Is this good enough?’ ‘Is it original?’ ‘Will people like it?’ ‘Will they judge me for it?’ ‘Will I ever be as good as that other artist?’
What actually do you worry about the most when you are in that cycle of rumination, or repetitive thinking. As creatures of habit, we tend to worry about the same thing or same things over and over again. What are you anxious about?
Grab a notebook and write down the thoughts you keep coming back to. Getting clear about what bothers you is the first step to stop overthinking.
Next, try to find out why you are worrying about that. What is at the root of your thoughts? Some negative experience from the past? Self-comparison to other artists? Unrealistic expectations? Note down the reason of your worries as well.
After that, take a step back and look at your thought patterns objectively. Are there reasonable grounds for your worries or is it rather your inner critic playing havoc? Chances are you will quickly realize that your fears and worries are baseless and will be able to let go of them.
TIP #2: Remember why you started to make art in the first place.
When you catch yourself overthinking, remember when you first started out making art. I’m pretty sure that you felt sort of a calling to be an artist, some passion that made you go that way.
Even though you barely knew anything about the creation process, I’m sure you were full of joy when creating. You simply followed your intuition.
But then something changed along the way. Maybe you started comparing yourself to other artists and found that you don’t make as much progress as fast as them. Or that your art isn’t as popular as theirs.
It is important to understand that making art is about personal development and not trying to appeal to as many people as possible. Art is a form of self-expression that shouldn’t be measured against anything.
Artists have something to express through their art, and that is more important than anything else. At the core, creating art is an opportunity to feel good and be happy. Plus, it has proven benefits on our mental health and well-being.
These alone are two good reasons to let your creative juices flow freely. Recall your initial motivation to create art and reignite that passion!
TIP #3: Seek a community of supportive artists.
Seeing art as a form of self-expression and self-development doesn’t mean you need to be by your lonesome all the time. On the contrary.
Anxiety is not uncommon in the art world. You’d be surprised to hear how many artists struggle with that issue!
In order to stop overthinking art, it is helpful to build a community of supportive artists around you. Artists who know the problem and can feel with you. And also artists who managed to tackle their art anxiety.
That way, you can support each other emotionally and receive honest feedback from your peers to help you make progress.
TIP #4: Don’t obsess about the outcome.
Finishing an artwork is more important than trying to make it perfect. Oftentimes, things stagnate due to unrealistic expectations.
We all want to be our best, but sometimes we have a vision in our mind that our creative skills cannot live up to. If that happens, we tend to think that we are just not good enough. Instead of completing the artwork, we might discard it altogether for the fear of making ‘bad art’.
Chasing perfectionism is a big obstacle to our artistic growth. If we wait until everything is perfect before we get started, or if we don’t finish our artwork before it’s perfect, we cannot make any progress.
If you have an exciting story to tell with your art, then by all means tell it! What you want to express through your art is much more important than the imperfections it may have.
If you tend to put too much pressure on yourself, it’s good to have something to relax your mind. Whether that be meditating, breathing exercises, walks in the forest, or any other way to declutter your head, I recommend doing it!
I have discovered meditation for myself and find it really helpful to unwind. Sometimes, the best inspiration comes to me during a meditation session!
I love to tell stories through my surreal art. If you’d like to know more about the story behind ‘oblivion.‘, you can learn more about it here in the Making Of.
TIP #5: Just be the best version of yourself.
Well, this is my last tip for you to stop overthinking art: just be the best version of yourself!
The only person you should compare yourself to is the former version of yourself. Don’t get caught up in someone else’s artistic career. We are all on our own journey.
You have your own purpose to create art. You have your own story to tell. Think about all the progress you’ve made since you first started. Acknowledge your artistic growth and embrace it.
It is normal that mistakes happen along the way. Stop dwelling on past mistakes and beating yourself up over something you cannot change. Undoubtedly, it takes courage to be creative. Try refocusing on being compassionate with yourself and nurturing your inner artist!
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With that said, I wish you all the best on your artistic journey, lots of joy and many, many, many awesome creations!
What are your strategies to deal with overthinking in art? Please leave comments and questions below or reach out to me directly. I’d love to hear from you! Make sure to sign up for my email list below so you don’t miss out on new blog posts and other cool stuff. ♥
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