Stop Telling Yourself You Can’t Do It

Creativity can be tough, but it’s worth the fight

Photo by davisuko on Unsplash

It is almost always a gamble. Failure is more guaranteed than success.

Creative ambition lures us forward, but it can often feel like others would prefer us to renounce our dreams in favour of something more practical and realistic.

What’s more, in a world where almost everything can be measured and mined for efficiency metrics, creativity tends to resist such data analysis. There is no saying if a year spent writing a novel, say, will come to anything at all. Or if you sit for months to make a painting, if anyone will see it afterwards.

Creativity is a risk.

So would it not be wiser — and simpler — to leave those glowing hopes in the fireplace, to slowly turn from orange embers to pale, crumbling ash?

The short answer is a stubborn, “No.”

The Lives of Artists

As a writer on art history, I’ve studied the lives of many artists. From 15th century creatives like Albrect Durer to 20th century luminaries like Frida Kahlo, I’ve read about numerous artistic careers.

And what I’ve noticed is that these career journeys are almost always difficult. Creatives throughout history have found…