Any creative person is familiar with the fear and doubts that periodically arise and kill the desire to work. Some people deal with it successfully; others live with their demons and keep creating, while others give up. How do you fight fear? Here is some advice by assignment writer.

First, let's identify its symptoms:

  1. Perfectionism. I'm not good enough.
  2. Procrastination. Tomorrow will be better.
  3. Not finishing things. If I finish a project, I will face the unknown.
  4. Self-doubt. Who am I?
  5. Shame. I am not an artist. And it's not a profession at all.
  6. Expectation. So far, the circumstances are not optimal for the job.
  7. Accusations. Because of it, I won't make it.
  8. Impracticality. I have more important things to do.
  9. Ignorance. Creativity for children.
Let's deal with each symptom in turn.

1. Perfectionism

There's a saying, "Be happy, not perfect." It's apt for people who suffer from excessive perfectionism. Yes, perfectionism isn't destructive in and of itself, but only if it doesn't lead to stress and delays in getting your work done. Some authors write a book for years, a page a month, for fear of making a mistake. And some write quickly, burn manuscripts, draw conclusions, and work on. People of the second type have a much better chance of success - they have been "on the other side."

Exercise: create bad art throughout the week. It could be an advertisement, a story, a picture, or music. It doesn't matter the quality, and the important thing is the quantity. You will see how easy it is and how fear instantly disappears because you do not need to reach perfection. Don't criticise yourself.

2. Procrastination

Procrastination has already been talked about so much.

Exercise: take a piece of paper and a pen and answer the question, "If I avoid this, what will I achieve?" That way, you can clearly see that procrastination makes no sense. Start working in the morning, right after you wake up. And when you've worked for about an hour, you can make coffee and get cleaned up.

3. not finishing things.

Psychologists attribute this phenomenon to a fear of success. A person is simply afraid of the consequences (good and bad) if he finishes a project. He wears himself out thinking about it, losing energy, and gets a fair share of stress.
Exercise: Before starting a project, write down why you need to finish it on a piece of paper. Come up with ten, fifty, a hundred arguments. Then plan the project and do it in parts.

4. Doubt

There are so many beautiful works around that one involuntarily begins to ask himself or herself: "Who am I to achieve such excellence?" The fantastic thing with the creative process is that if you think you're not creative, then you are. And vice versa.

Exercise: talk to yourself out loud or in writing. What makes you think you're stupider than those who have had some success? Create something. For example, an advertising slogan. Come up with ten slogans to kill the fear of doing something perfectly. In the end, you'll see that the creative process is, first and foremost, fun, not scary. Doubt will go away with each idea you come up with.

5. Shame

Shame from creativity usually comes from childhood. The child is indoctrinated into a real profession and grows up with preconceptions.

Exercise: look at this world through the eyes of a child. Do not think about anything; forbid yourself to believe. When an unnecessary thought arises, smoothly push it out of your head. Just observe and be amazed. Creative people are always surprised, even by the most ordinary things. You will find that there is no shame in being a creator.


6. Expectation

Waiting is worse than procrastination. A person does not get to business while waiting for the right moment. However, even if there are not enough resources now, it is still possible to start. Why wait for the opportunity to do "step 1" when you can start with "step 2"?

Exercise: Simplify your schedule. Get rid of things that have no or very little value. Get rid of unnecessary items, and free up space. Stop sitting on social media. Now think about a book, a movie, or a painting. Where can you start?

7. Accusations

The stronger our fears, the stronger the accusations against others. We even criticise relatives for not supporting us.

Exercise: Ask the person directly for help or support. Even if he refuses, you will at least know that your fears are not unfounded. But most likely, you will find that people don't mind helping. Just don't forget to help yourself.


8. Impracticality

Yes, we all have more important things to do. Which, as a rule, doesn't make any sense.

Exercise: Allocate at least one hour in your schedule for a creative process, during which you turn off your phone and don't get distracted. Just one hour a day.


9. Ignorance

Ignorance of creativity is familiar to many people. Especially those who do hard physical work. They don't think of invention as work and believe it is for children.

Exercise: Allow yourself to be a child again. Do a puzzle, dance, or draw a picture. Do not criticise yourself; give yourself entirely to creativity. The process for the sake of the process.