How can I start believing in myself as an artist?

Start by taking pride in your work itself, rather than waiting for external validation or the response to your work. Embrace authenticity, own who you are, and focus on growing as a craftsperson and thinker by consistently showing up and putting in the hours.

Why do artists often struggle with self-belief and wait for external validation?

Artists too often "play small," waiting for the world to tell them it's safe to believe or when they can take pride in their efforts. They wait for permission to wear the "ARTIST badge," rather than recognizing that believing in oneself is an internal job.

What does "believing in yourself as an artist" truly mean beyond success metrics?

It means taking pride in the work itself, not just the response it receives, and living with authenticity by owning who you are and what you believe. It's about growing as a human being, craftsperson, and thinker, basing your feelings of success on your efforts and work.

How does self-belief directly impact the achievement of an artist's dreams?

The article states that "When you can believe in yourself, all your dreams will come true." Self-belief is presented as the key to making dreams a reality, empowering artists to pursue their aspirations without waiting for external permission or validation.

Artists: Why Believing in Yourself is Essential for Success

Tacky neon light saying believe
All artists have dreams, wishes and goals.

It doesn’t matter whether we keep our light hidden and never share our aspirations with another soul, or we announce our plans loudly to the universe.

Either way, as artists, we all want our work to be seen, to connect with others. We each desire respect for our talent and our ideas.

And these are big dreams.

The key to making one’s dreams come true is in believing in oneself.

Do you believe in yourself?

You see, too often artists don’t.

We work and work and work at developing our craft. We stretch and grow and mature our vision. We strive toward our goals.
But we play small, waiting for outside validation that it’s safe to believe.

Waiting for the world to tell us that it believes first. Waiting to be told when we can take pride in our efforts. When we’ll be allowed to wear the ARTIST badge.

But it’s not the world’s job to believe in you. It’s your job.

Believing in yourself as an artist isn’t about sold-out shows and your name in Art in America.

It’s about taking pride in the work — not in the response to the work.

Believing in yourself is about living with authenticity. It’s about flying your Freak Flag high, letting yourself be as weird on the outside as you feel on the inside. It’s about owning who you are and what you believe to be true. It’s about giving others permission to do the same.

It’s about growing as a human being, a craftsperson and a thinker. It’s about showing up and putting in the hours.

It’s about basing your feelings of success on your efforts and your work.

When you can believe in yourself, all your dreams will come true.

Do you believe?

Written by Crista Cloutier, artist mentor + founder of The Working Artist. (learn more about Crista here)

Frequently Asked Questions

1 How can I start believing in myself as an artist?: Start by taking pride in your work itself, rather than waiting for external validation or the response to your work. Embrace authenticity, own who you are, and focus on growing as a craftsperson and thinker by consistently showing up and putting in the hours.
2 Why do artists often struggle with self-belief and wait for external validation?: Artists too often "play small," waiting for the world to tell them it's safe to believe or when they can take pride in their efforts. They wait for permission to wear the "ARTIST badge," rather than recognizing that believing in oneself is an internal job.
3 What does "believing in yourself as an artist" truly mean beyond success metrics?: It means taking pride in the work itself, not just the response it receives, and living with authenticity by owning who you are and what you believe. It's about growing as a human being, craftsperson, and thinker, basing your feelings of success on your efforts and work.
4 How does self-belief directly impact the achievement of an artist's dreams?: The article states that "When you can believe in yourself, all your dreams will come true." Self-belief is presented as the key to making dreams a reality, empowering artists to pursue their aspirations without waiting for external permission or validation.

Artists: Why Believing in Yourself is Essential for Success

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