DEAR ARTIST, STAY PATIENT. I'M EXCITED TO WATCH YOU GROW, NO MATTER HOW SLOWLY.
As a full time freelance artist, every week I bust my ass to get one step closer to that vision in my head of my future. It completely consumes my life and get’s in the way of my family, friends, and even my own happiness. So why do I care so much? Is it just the money, some wanted notoriety, or am I just stuck in yet another comparison trap where I’m trying to beat the people I see online or at least feel like I’m catching up to them? I honestly have no idea, but my guess it’s all of the above.
If you are like me, you always feel behind and your to-do list totally freaks you out. You're running yourself ragged and your mind is always buzzing with ideas without the motivation to make them all real. You love it, but failing every week is just making it all worse. Sound familiar?
HAVING A PATIENCE OVER PASSION MINDSET
Stop, breathe, you are human. One small step is all you need to be "killing it", not this work till it kills you bullshit. I know, easier said than done, but here are a few tips that might help you prioritize your mental health and lower those crazy expectations of yours.
Get rid of that green envy in your feed
If there is someone you follow online that makes you feel bad, you need to unfollow them ASAP. If they have a huge following, they won’t even notice anyway so why are you doing this to yourself? There is a big difference between being inspired and feeling intimidated, so remove the people in your feed that make you green with envy, even if that person is me.
Prioritize your family over your work schedule
Work will always be there haunting you right into retirement, but the people you love won’t always be there. People fucking die, they get sick, they move away, so why is it that our todo list is always more important than the people we care about? Put them first always. I know you need money to support them, but I’m sure if they had a choice they would prob choose you over “insert unnecessary expense here”.
Realizing you do better work when you’re healthy
Stress is the one thing that can put your body over the edge no matter what kind of aliment, disease, or anxiety you have. It ALWAYS makes things worse and I’m not just talking about the physical things, but your mental health as well. When you aren’t eating or sleeping, your work is going to suffer for it. When you work long hours every single day, you are eventually going to explode, it’s just a matter of when. Listen to your body when it’s telling you to stop, you’ll thank yourself later.
Add your new ideas to the bottom of your to-do list
Shiny object syndrome is a bitch and an evil temptress preventing you from doing the things you know, should be taking priority. You get so carried away with what “could be” that you forget there are already a mountain of things you already have to do that are probably much more important.
So next time you have an idea, just write it down and add it to the bottom of your list. Then by the time it pops up again, you can take a second look to see if it’s still worth doing. If an idea if over a month old, and it still gets you excited, then you know it’s a keeper. But don’t let that new shiny new thing get in the way of your productivity, no matter how cool it would be.