If you’re like me, in January you think to yourself, “This will be the year that I learn how to manage the worries and doubts that come with living a creative life,” but the following December, you’re surprised at what a challenge it has been to thrive as an artist during the past year.

What if we began 2016 with 10 strategies to embrace the challenges of living an artistic life and re-harness our creative spirit?

Psychologist and creativity coach Eric Maisel, PhD, has provided exactly that in an article published in the May 2015 issue of Experience Life magazine. His deep insights along with my own thoughts about the challenges of being an artist will help you be artistically fearless! I created a companion pdf, 10 Ways to Be Artistically Fearless, that you can print and tape on your mirror, put in your audition book, or keep in your journal as a reminder that, while creating a life in the arts can be daunting, the rewards are totally worth it!

1. HONOR THE CREATIVE PROCESS
   • Accept that not every moment you spend pursuing your craft will be performance-worthy. The creative process involves many steps along the way, some of which will be tedious or downright awful. Think of it as “showing your work” on a long, complicated math problem — it will take many steps to get to the final result.
2. GET OK WITH MISTAKES AND MESSES
   • The majority of our waking hours involve following rules and getting things “right,” but creativity requires freedom to operate outside those boundaries. Develop a ritual that helps you shift gears and abandon the rules you normally feel obligated to follow. This can be something simple like taking in a few deep breaths and saying something like, “This is my creative self exploring. It’s a no-judgment zone.”
3. CREATE IN THE MIDDLE OF THINGS
   • Not when the “perfect” circumstances come along, but right now, in the middle of your everyday life. Right in the middle of school or work obligations, dirty laundry, and friends and family needing your attention. If you can only create under optimal conditions, it’s a hobby for you, not a calling.
4. CRACK THROUGH EVERYDAY RESISTANCE
   • The creative process requires a great deal of effort and intention. College Football Hall of Fame coach Woody Hayes once said, “Paralyze resistance with persistence.” Acknowledge that resistance is often there, then do something about it.



5. GET A GRIP ON YOUR MIND
   • If you tell yourself you’re too busy, too tired, or don’t have enough talent or resources, you’re likely to talk yourself out of making forward progress with that song, monologue, or choreography. Notice, then challenge, your negative thoughts. Get in the habit of replacing them with affirming words that will better serve your creative process.
6. INSTITUTE A MORNING CREATIVITY PRACTICE
   • Begin your morning with an intention to embrace your creative side. Gathering your creative momentum for the day might start with lighting a candle and spending a few moments in meditation or prayer, listening to some calming (or energizing) music as you get dressed, or simply saying out loud as you walk out the door, “I’m going Full Out today!” #fullout2016
7. EXPECT RISKS TO FEEL RISKY
   • Have you ever considered the fact that being an artist really is risky? That when people say, “You’re so brave; I could never do what you do,” they really mean it? The very act of choosing provokes anxiety, and the creative process is one choice after another. So instead of being surprised that laying it on the line day after day produces anxiety, seek out and practice effective ways to handle that aspect of the creative life.
8. ERR ON THE SIDE OF COMPLETING
   • New York Times best-selling author Michael Hyatt calls this the “messy middle.” It’s that spot where something is harder than you expected it to be. It’s a place of self-doubt or fatigue where we feel like we bit off more than we can chew or we’ve lost our motivation for some reason. Keep going! All of your experiences – even the difficult ones – work together to provide new insights and resilience that will serve you as you create a life in the arts.
9. LET MEANING TRUMP MOOD
   • Are you an artist for the long haul? In it for life? Then now is a good time to realize that you won’t always feel like doing it. On those days, it’s important to believe that what you have to offer really matters and not let your mood dictate how and when you pursue your craft.
10. GET OVER YOUR FEAR OF REJECTION
    • Every single creative person since the beginning of time has experienced the anxiety of criticism and rejection. You are unique and special. Be true to your own creative spirit and don’t be afraid to share the best of whatever it inspires.

The novelist William Boyd once wrote: “The last thing we learn about ourselves is our effect.” In 2016 we have the opportunity to make creating fearlessly the heart of what we are and do. You won’t know what kind of effect you can have unless you work through the challenges and begin to realize your full potential.

Which one of these ten steps will you start with in your artistic journey for 2016? Share your ideas in the comments below or on the AuditionCutPro Facebook page and use the hashtag #fullout2016!



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