How to face the anxiety of creative process

Dear friends,

this one lied on my heart heavily for past months. A message. Message for you, all the creative people in the world.

Last week we started a new main semester project at school and we are struggling with it ever since.  I have seen many fellow students deeply emotionally involved in their projects. All the love and care that will be embodied in the project in the end. It very much encapsulated the stress many creatives have with their process.

The terrifying part is that we do not know what lies at the end. We are moving in a direction with the best interest in mind. But what about the other people? Teachers, students and eventually employers and clients. Is the thing we bring to the table enough? Will they care? Can they see the possibilities we see? And what about us? Have we live up to our own demands and expectations? Is this the best we can do? What if the last project was the best I could ever do?

We care about what the world says about our work. Why would not we, when we have spent many hours making it? It is a part of who we are. The project caries our own thought and emotions. Where we grew up, our friends, our beliefs, our fears. All of that lives in our project.

It is life-draining to stare onto a blank page, knowing that we have to create. Create something out of thin air. Catch the idea and carve it into the reality. And when we create it, it feels like we are standing naked in front of the others.

So what can we do to overcome all this? I wish I knew. However, I promised the solution in the title, right? The most important thing, or at least the thing that helps me, is to simply continue with making. Creating is magical, even though it is hard as hell. And when you persevere, one step at a time, you will eventually live up to your own expectations. Only to raise your expectations again. But it will not be the same. You have outgrown yourself. Continue.

And we know we can be the hardest critics to ourselves, right?

So, perhaps the lesson is to embrace the uncertainity. Come to studio every day, not knowing how the day will end. If the work is going to get better than yesterday. Learn to appreciate the intangible nature of the process.

Keep making, it is worth it.

Cheers