Do Your Own Thing with Integrity: A Special Artist's Quote + Silencing Your Inner Critic

There's truth to the tortured artist facade, creators experience crippling self-doubt. I live to encourage freelancers, but no one sees my self-critic. She's a bitch, that one. She nags about every. little. thing. I. do. I'm sick of her shit, honestly. I didn't work and innovate to my full potential last year (haha, there she goes again), so I've turned up the heat on my work load. It's hard, but quotes, books, and recordings from creators I respect inspires me when it gets rough. I really love this one:

"Try to remember that being an artist doesn’t mean you’re in a great big art contest.  In specific instances, you might have competitors for jobs and opportunities, but on the whole it’s not a zero sum game.  You’re only losing the game if you think of it that way, so don’t conjure up a paralytic sense of failure by worrying about what everyone else is doing.  Just do your thing.  Do it well and with integrity, and know that’s a measure of success."      -Tracy Butler, Lackadaisy Cats (My favorite webcomic!)

I think of that last line all the time while I'm working. My current focus is improving the hell out of quality to make the best brand I can. I'm not looking at what everyone else is doing for ideas. In the past I'd wish I was as far-along as some of my peers, now I don't. I focus on my quality instead. Putting your all into making the best work you possibly can is it's own satisfaction- and success usually comes with it! A final excellent quote from Tracy:

"Appreciate that you have a little something special on your hands, even if it can take you to some deeply unhappy places at times.  Not everyone can see the world through an artistic lens or alchemize their reality into paintings and stories.  Not everyone has a great enduring passion in life.  Take advantage of it and feel lucky."

Remember this when will power to power through writing blog posts, take 500 photos, write out 100 price tags, and further inevitable creative-biz monotony is lacking. Not one else can thrift to curate a collection like you do or write a blog from your special perspective.

Take advantage of your gifts and use them to the fullest every day, with gratitude and a positive attitude! What do you do to stay inspired and working hard?

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