Cultivating Creativity Part VIII
Posted: Saturday, January 28, 2012
by Tricia Poulos leonard
triciastudio
Creating art should be pleasurable…but sometimes it isn’t. As artists we sometimes avoid approaching the canvas or paper. We find hundreds of things to do instead of picking up the paintbrush or the pencil. The culprit is anxiety. Anxiety often stops the artist from producing and actually makes the process of creating more painful than pleasurable. Anxiety is a part of life. Accepting this fact and deciding to deal with it will lead you to be able to create in spite of the anxiety we all feel.
Anxiety is sometimes caused by seeing situations as more important, more dangerous, or more negative than they really are. When I was a high school counselor, I often had occasion to speak with my student’s parents about their fears and concerns for their child. A parent would come in and be beside herself because her daughter did not make the cheerleading squad. I wanted to put a scale on my wall that has at one end: “your child was killed in an auto accident” and at the other “your child is late for school”. I would then ask this parent to place their concern at the area that it belongs on that scale. I predict it would be closer to the “late for school” end of the scale. You can do the same for any situation you find yourself in. A rejection letter from a national art show is not life-threatening. Your anxiety about the situation will be reduced if you can put it in perspective. Make a scale with the worst thing that you can think of happening to you at one end and the most minor inconvenience at the other. Find out where your anxiety-producing event is on that scale.
How you manage anxiety can affect how much it disables you. So many things people do to manage anxiety actually increases its power. Drinking, smoking, and watching television or playing video games puts off the anxious feelings temporarily. However, these are unhealthy and time-wasting ways to manage anxiety. Develop healthful and uplifting methods such as taking a long walk in the fresh air, taking a ten minute shower, or simply sitting quietly and breathing deeply to handle your anxious feelings.
Negative self talk is one of the most harmful things one can do when facing anxiety. Take three steps to turn around the negative thoughts that increase your anxiety. First, notice what you are saying to yourself. Is it negative in nature? Does it look at the situation as if it were a half-empty glass? Does it predict the worst possible outcome to the situation? Second, dispute the self-talk that makes you anxious or does not serve you. Turn the half-empty glass to one that is half-full. Find something positive about the possible outcome. Third, substitute the more affirming or useful self-talk for what you were originally thinking. This process will change your anxiety into hopeful anticipation of a successful outcome.
Examine these techniques and learn what works for you. Practice them and make regular use of them when you are facing an anxious time.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)I like your approach that we have to accept the fact of anxiety being part of our lives and than try to control it, thanks for sharing :)Thanks for reading my article and giving me feedback!
Tricia
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