Behind the Scenes Sunday

Self-Esteem & Art

Let’s take a peek at the cogs inside the machine and talk about why I write and how I write on Behind the Scenes Sunday! Today I’d like to talk about the relationship between a person’s artistic pursuits and their self-esteem and how not to let failure or success as an artist impact how you feel about yourself.

Failure and success are as fleeting and ephemeral as happiness and sadness. They are not built to last and you shouldn’t hang your worth as a human being on such flimsy hooks. It’s tempting, especially when working in a creative field, to think that doing x, y, or z (landing a literary agent, getting that short story published, hitting fifty 5 star reviews on Goodreads, etc.) will make you feel good about yourself. And it will! But not the kind of good that lasts.

So, what to do? How do you make sure your self-esteem and self-worth doesn’t wax and wane with your career? Here’s a few tips:

Separate yourself from your art. I’ve talked about this before on this blog, but it’s vitally important to separate yourself from your art — you have to accept that you are not your work and your work is not you. That way the success or failure of that work does not directly relate to who you are! I’m not saying it’s bad to have pride in your work, your art. But it is dangerous to let yourself be defined by it. Find joy in creation. Don’t look for joy in the success of your work — find joy in the creation of the work itself. Just like it’s the journey that matters, not the destination, you should get more joy and fulfilment from creating your art than from how it is received by others.Embrace imperfection. Accept that nothing you make will be perfect — because you’re not perfect! Nobody and nothing is. Find beauty in the imperfections of your art and yourself.Celebrate your ‘why’. Make sure to celebrate, not just when your art is well-received, but all the time — celebrate your ‘why’, the reason you are making art in the first place. For me, I write because it connects me with the world and my fellow human beings. It makes me feel good and brings me joy!

As always, if you’re interested in supporting me and my work, thank you: Hungry is the Night, my paranormal romance, is available on all major platforms, as are my classic murder mysteries with scifi twists, The Cadence Turing Mystery series!

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