It had not occurred to me to think of fear as a GPS.
It’s actually a refreshing approach when facing your greatest challenges as a creative. The first time that I came across this idea was on Twitter through Marie Forleo, entrepreneur and philanthropist:
Whoa.
When it comes to fear, it’s easy to enter a cycle of thoughts that will prevent us from taking action. Endless “what ifs” flood our minds and great opportunities fade away.
A life filled with fear is not life.
Here’s a couple of questions to ask yourself when you have a minute: What’s confidence? What isn’t?
Confidence is in your gut feeling.
In uncertainty.
In the things you are afraid of.
In the events yet to experience.
Confidence is not flawless. It’s in the trial and error, not in the perfect conditions. There are no conditions that are perfect. There will never be. It all begins with the unknown; with the uncomfortable.
It isn’t the absolute absence of fear. It’s moving forward while still afraid. It’s trusting process and the progress that comes along.
At the same time, welcoming the creative challenges you have at hand contributes to developing confidence. It’s all about “developing a taste for having problems,” as Oliver Burkeman proposes in his principles of patience. From this idea, it’s safe to come to the following conclusion:
The sooner you welcome uncertainty and not-knowing as normal ways of being, the better off you’ll be.
Austin Kleon
Embracing the unknown is the key phrase here. After all, no sailor learned anything in calm seas.
What does confidence look like to you?
Developing confidence is a journey that goes one step at a time.
Trust process. These words have become more and more common to find in areas related to business, art, and self-development to name a few.
I recently came across this other approach: Think process, not product. Austin Kleon always has precise advice.
Process, inevitably, allows confidence to develop. Even when you’re not sure what you’re doing, you are constantly getting clues that lead to further steps. That’s why it’s a good idea to pay attention to what you’re paying attention to.
Continue reading “Developing confidence is an ongoing process”