A lot of us feel the urge to create, but sometimes, standing in your creative and artistic power can be hard!
I get it! Not only have I been there, I’m in a lot of creative circles and I know this is a very common struggle for creatives at all stages.
The good news is, there are ways to over come this and step into your power as an artist, creator, or creative.
Here are six tips to help you find and harness your creative power!
Side note, this page contains affiliate links, which means if you purchase something using the product links on this page, I may get a small commission. This comes at no extra cost to you and helps to support the site. Thank you!
Create first and worry about sharing later
I’ve often found that the act of creating in of itself is far less overwhelming than the idea of sharing what you’ve created.
It’s the idea sharing our work–or even making a whole career out of it–that makes us start to question if something we’ve made is good enough.
In my experience, both personal and with other creatives, this questioning and judgement often starts while you’re creating. And if you look at what you’re working on and decide it’s not good enough to share, it may be enough to stop you in your tracks.
This is giving away your power.
Because the thing is, art and creations often look like a mess when they’re in progress. In fact, they’re usually a mess until all of the sudden they’re not.
So if you’re judging your in-progress work and wondering if it’s good enough, the answer will almost always be no–because it’s not finished yet.
Take this pressure off yourself by giving yourself permission to create first and worry about sharing later.
In fact if it helps, you can even decide upfront that you don’t have to share what you’re creating at all if you get to the end and you really don’t like it enough to do so.
But give yourself the chance to just create without judgement or plans for what you’ll do with your creation when you’re finished.
Just let it exist right now.
Don’t try to be anyone else
As artists and creators, I think we all have fellow creatives whose work we look up to. And while it’s fine to draw inspiration from these people, it should never be your goal to be them.
It shouldn’t be your goal to be anyone other than yourself.
Part of the power of your unique brand of creativity comes from your individual influences, personality, and expression.
If you try to emulate anyone else’s art or creative style, your squashing your own unique brand of creativity. And ultimately, that’s the very thing that’s going to allow you to stand out.
You don’t need to be the person you look up to. The world already has their unique brand of creativity.
The world needs you to be you and to allow your creative style to be what it is.
Stop comparing your journey and your work to anyone else’s
It’s so easy to look at someone successful and believe our work (usually our work-in-progress) will never be as good.
It can also be easy to see someone else’s (seemingly) smooth journey or quick success and get discouraged.
But again, both of these thought patterns take away your creative power.
What you create and how you reach success will be unique to you. Your finished work will, in fact, be very different from someone else’s finished work. That doesn’t mean it isn’t “as good” or that it won’t find it’s audience.
I believe one of the greatest advantages of creativity is that it’s subjective. To me, this means, I don’t have to make everyone happy. It means I have to make myself happy and trust that people who like the things I like will also appreciate what I’ve made.
Your journey will also be your own, and it’s vital for you to take it. And beyond that, you don’t always know what someone else went through. A smooth surface journey doesn’t mean it’s been easy for them.
Similar to the last point, when you play the comparison game, you’re incredibly likely to squash your unique brand of creativity and everything that has the potential to make you succeed.
Keep your eyes on your own paper and create something that speaks to you first and foremost. I’ve found this to be the most sustainable path to creative power.
Think less and try to be more of a channel
I’ve often said that when I am at my creative best, I feel a lot less like I’m writing and more like the story is using me to tell itself. In these moments, I don’t have to think too much or too hard. The story just flows.
Essentially, I become a creative channel.
Creativity has the potential to allow you to enter a flow state, but the way to get there is to think less and just show up and allow the creativity to channel through you.
This concept was really reaffirmed for me by of my favorite writing and creative coaches, Julia Cameron.
In her book, The Right to Write, she mentions that she has a note in her writing space that says something to the extent of, “Okay Universe, you take care of the quality, and I’ll take care of the quantity.”
Then she advises you to let go and just create. Allow the Universe to work out the quality of what you’re creating.
Personally, I’ve adopted this method and it has made my creative process a lot more natural and fluid. I’ve also found I’m really loving what I’m creating.
Stop waiting for the “right” time and work with what you have NOW
If you’re waiting for the right time to create, you’ll never create. This inherently limits our ability to stand in our creative power.
We think we need large chunks of time to create. It’s wonderful when we can find that time, but it’s not essential.
I’ve been creating and building a creative life since my teens, and while I have been able to create large of creative time now that I’ve built a life around creating, a good portion of my work has gotten done in 10-15 minute chunks.
A few hundred words here, another hundred or so there. Fix a problem or two here, fix another one there.
It may not be my preference, but it’s better than nothing. And I feel so much better on the days when I’ve created just a little bit, compared to the days I’ve done nothing because I didn’t believe I had enough time.
Similarly, I have an artist friend who has her painting or current project up in the corner of the room. When she finds she has a few spare minutes, she sits down and creates, even if it’s just for a moment or two.
It all adds up.
Julia Cameron also talks about making creating a practice. For her, it’s a daily one, and it’s become one for me too. This is another mindset shift that I’ve found helps me harness my creative power more steadily and effortlessly.
It takes the idea of creating from a big, almost overwhelming production, and pares it down to something you can do regularly and sustainably. You simply show up and start where you are.
So, work with what you have. If you only have fifteen minutes a day, then create for fifteen minutes a day.
It may take you a while to complete your creation, but so what? You’ll get farther if you start showing up regularly than you will if you keep waiting for the right time.
If you can accept that it will take a while, this may even be something you can use to your advantage. I’ve found the plus side of going slow is that it moves the finish line far enough away that you’re no longer racing toward it.
It helps you slow down and uncover your creative power naturally by allowing your creativity and creation to just be.
Get a Tarot Reading
As an artist and creator myself, tarot has been a pretty transformational tool to help me lock in on my strengths as a creator, remove a creative block, and seek more clarity and direction on my projects and process.
This is why Foreshadow Intuitive Tarot offers a Guidance for Creators and Creatives Reading, which is designed to give you the guidance and empowerment you need to move your creative endeavors forward with confidence!
This reading can be customized to meet you where your at in your unique creative journey. It can also be structured to help you gain the insights you need for your creativity to flow and your projects to blossom.
I also have a post that shares 7 ways tarot can help your creativity if you want to learn more!
For more on my Tarot philosophy, you can can check out the About page.
If you’d like to know even more about me and my own personal creative experience and how tarot supported me, you can read my story here.
What have you learned about your power as a creative or artist? How have you struggled with your artistic or creative power? Tell me about it in the comments!
