Are limiting beliefs holding you back from being the artist and person you want to be? Many artists are not satisfied in their art practice but fail to see why they haven’t reached the place they want to be. Is it external circumstances or something deeper? On this episode, I’m going to discuss how our underlying belief systems impact what happens in our art studio and how you can take control of your growth.
Outline of This Episode
- [0:54] The reason our feelings are so powerful and how beliefs shape actions
- [6:42] Why this episode probably applies to you too
- [10:11] What if being an artist was easy?
- [17:51] Exploring internal beliefs, limits, and expectations
Your feelings have power
Our feelings power our actions. There is no way around that. And as artists, our underlying belief system is what creates our feelings about our art, our capacity to create it, its value, and our own value as the creator. Those feelings take precedence over logic, practicality, discipline, great ideas, and even knowing what to do. That’s why I talk to artists who KNOW some of the things they are doing in their practice are unhelpful, but they can’t seem to stop. Or even artists who love themselves, love what they do, but can seem to get past a certain level of success. All of these issues come down to negative underlying belief systems built by the thoughts we’ve thought over and over again. So many times that we don’t really question if they are ours or where they came from anymore. We accept them as fact. This is why uncovering these underlying beliefs is critical to creating success in your studio.
Just do it
I’ve said it a million times: You have to be willing to put in the work to get results. Sometimes that means putting in the practical work, like showing up to your studio consistently or actively honing and developing your craft. But sometimes the work isn’t so straightforward. Sometimes the work is deeply mental and emotional. As artists, we are feelers. We feel EVERYTHING, which makes having healthy feelings super important because it directly impacts our work. The problem is that so many of us try to be successful artists and humans with really negative feelings about ourselves and our art. These feelings stem from the messages that were handed down to us from an authority figure…our parents, teachers, artists we admire, blogs, books, videos, films…the list is probably endless. If you are willing to do the work and you’re willing to dig into it, that’s where you will discover a lot of the limiting beliefs. Whether that’s through therapy, meditation, yoga, general embodiment, or even joining the Savvy Painter Community. Whatever you need to do to be in a better relationship with yourself as an artist AND a person, do it.
Take back control
I understand that doing the work and digging into limiting beliefs can be difficult, and even painful work. For some of us, those beliefs were given to us by trauma that we had zero control over. So while finally facing these beliefs and feelings can be a really scary thing, I want you to know that you are not a victim of the circumstances that were beyond your control. And even if you got in your own way…it’s okay to acknowledge that now, forgive yourself, and move on. Ask yourself, what are the things that ARE in my control that I can do to impact where I am at with my art, my experience of creating it, why I’m creating it, and what I’m creating with it? When we take responsibility for our own growth we take back control of our lives and our art from the things holding us back.
Resources Mentioned on this episode
- The Savvy Painter Growth Studio
- The Savvy Painter Community
- Episode artwork by Lisa Diebboll
- This Is How You Take Your Power Back – EP 266
