Stop Waiting for Permission to Be Great
It’s scary to make a declaration to yourself about the deepest desires of your heart.
It’s even scarier to unabashedly and publicly pursue the deepest desires of your heart.
What if you fail?
What if you’ll never be “good enough”?
What if you disappoint your parents?
What if your friends judge you?
What if everyone thinks you’re crazy?
What if this… what if that….
Maybe your ego kicks in…. “Who do you think you are? Pursuing this gregarious goal? One only the greatest of artists or entrepreneurs should pursue? Are you really willing to call yourself “great…”? What makes you so sure of your greatness?”
To pursue what you deem your purpose to be… means you have to be brave enough to put in the effort, even though there’s no proof. The only proof is your heart guiding you there.
A sad tendency among the “brave enough to pursue our passions…” is to work our asses off…. And then we wait.
We wait for someone else’s words to validate how great we are. For someone to acknowledge the greatness of our creations.
For permission to call ourselves great.
For permission to continue pursuing our passions.
We can end up spending our entire lives waiting for permission to believe that we are great.
In the words of the wonderful watercolorist Angela Fehr, “But what if you’re good enough now… what if the only person you really need permission from is yourself?”
Who am I? What do I need to hear?
As writers, we’re told to write for our audience. “It’s not about you, you’re not writing for yourself… you’re writing for them!”
Screenwriters manipulate their words to achieve the desired emotion among their audience. They’ll twist story beats for tears or laughs.
Painters will consider how their strokes will inflict emotion within their observers.
I agree that all art is designed to be shared.
The sharing of it makes us feel less alone.
Every individual gets to bring a unique subjectiveness to the art they’re witnessing. It’s a privilege for the viewer and the artist.
But don’t shun your identity from your work. Allow yourself to be seen. Ask yourself who you are, and how can this art impacts you as well.
In her episode of the ‘I Am A Creator Podcast’, Angela Fehr states:
“I come back to who am I? What do I need to hear? I’m preaching to myself every day. Trying to stay heart guided means I have to give myself a few pep talks so fear and doubt don’t creep in.”
Remaining heart guided will allow you to experience your art during its creation. And after it’s completed and ready to be shared with others.
The fear and doubt of others’ perceptions are natural. Who doesn’t want their art to make an impact on someone else? Or at least cause them to take a pause and stay curious?
Don’t let the fear and doubt of not being good enough to guide your work. Don’t let the fear and doubt of how others will interpret it guide you.
Be willing to ask yourself first… Who am I? Why is it important for me to create this? Your heart will guide you there.
Release the fear of being misunderstood
Angela used to reach a certain point with a painting and think “Oh I wish I could call this painting finished, just the way it is. But no one would understand it.” Then she’d keep working and paint the life right out of it.
One day she made a shift. She stopped painting when she felt her painting was done.
This was a game changer for her.
She reconciled with her fears so she could access the art her heart was begging her to make. Regardless of how anyone else would interrupt it.
Some people will love your art, or what you’re selling. They will crave more. They will become a fan.
Others will never get you, or buy in. They will perpetually misunderstand you. Let them.
Choose to release the fear of that happening, because it’s inevitable.
Choose to make art for yourself and the people who celebrate it, keep them curious. And continue to challenge those who don’t get you.
Angela chose to paint from her heart… even if no one ever got it.
Access the deepest parts of your heart
I didn’t know what my heart on the paper would look like. It’s funny people really connect with your art where you’re painting from the heart and not trying to impress them.
— Angela Fehr
Accessing the deepest desires of your heart is a gift.
Being able to hear the almost silent whispers of its wanting is special.
Challenging yourself to do something with your heart’s desires can be devastatingly difficult. But it’s the factor connecting you and your work to other people.
Find ways in to access your heart and let it shine through on the art you create and share.
The turning point, when you decide
“Everyone told me my art was good, but they were my family, I didn’t believe them. I needed that turning point when I decided.”
Angela gave herself permission. She decided her art was good, even if nobody else did. She also gave herself permission to define what being an artist meant to her.
When she was raising three young children, she decided that “I would feel good about my art if I could just get in 15 min a few times a week. I made my kids nap time, creativity time.”
Some people might’ve huffed and puffed. “Ohhhh sure, so what you’re saying is that you liked playing with paint a few times a week. Pshhh that’s called having a hobby sweetheart.”
Well, to Angela that was what she needed to call herself an artist.
Give yourself permission to be who you want to be, do the art you want, and create the product that excites you.
Give yourself permission to define what it is to be an artist or an entrepreneur, and what success means to you.
Decide what mountain to climb, then climb it step by step
“The tiny steps we’re taking today may feel small, sometimes it doesn’t feel like they’re taking us anywhere. But you climb the mountain one step at a time. Nobody tries to run up Everest, so we trust that even though we can’t see the destination, those little things we do will take us where we want to go.
We can’t manipulate the timeline, we can’t choose when success comes to us, so we really need to trust the process. Because stressing about it doesn’t make it happen any faster.”
— Angela Fehr
Whether you’re climbing Everest, Kilimanjaro, or the hill you thought was enormous as a kid. Choose your mountain and start climbing.
It will be hard, the air will be thin, but every step is another step.
Give yourself permission to go at your own speed and take the steps that matter to you. There’re many techniques used to climb the same mountain. Define yours and go.
Conclusion
What if you’re good enough today? I’d bet money that you are.
Do not let your life’s best work only exist inside of yourself. Do not quiet your heart’s calling.
What does your heart look like on paper? Let the world know.
Maddie is a writer + voice-over artist. She’s a soon to-be certified life coach through the JRNI program. Self declared boxed wine aficionado. She’d love to hear all your thoughts at [email protected]
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