Seven Realities Every Creative Will Have to Deal With At One Point Of His/Her Career

Seven Negative Realities Every Creative Will Have to Deal With At One Point Of Their Career

The job of a creator of any form of art is a hard endeavor. You can refer to it as the travail of a creator, artist or storyteller. This experiences usually happen when you are just starting off when your passion for your art seemed to be the only fuel for you to carry on your quest to gain recognition. Situations like these are not exclusive to anybody, they are situation everybody will have to contend with at one point of their career pursuit.

Self-Doubt

Creative individuals have had to contend with an inner voice that tells them that they are not good in what they do or what they are doing the wrong thing. This voice tells them that the work does not even worth the attention of even your family members because it was not good enough. This voice might reoccur and might even kill the passion of such a person if he/she does not deal with it. According to author Sylvia Plath, “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt”. Self-doubt might be dangerous if the person involve does not find a way to silence the voice by keep doing what he or she does.

“You do not need to pay attention to those voices within you that create pain, or make you feel less competent, smart or able.”
― Sanaya Roman

Walking alone

Early in your career, you will have to get used to walking alone. This is true because, when you just started off, people, even your loved one will doubt what you are doing. This means that you will have to live with doing your thing along. For instance, as a writer, you might not have friends who will be encouraging you or telling you to send your manuscript for them to help you proofread.

Every creator, at one point, will have to do his thing in the solitude of his room. Nobody will be there to tell you how good your work is.

This experience is, however, favourable, as working alone will help you learn how to deal with distraction and cope with disappointment.

”Without great solitude no serious work is possible.”  Pablo Picasso

Little or no appreciation for your work

As a young or upcoming creator, you will have to deal with this a lot. People in your industry might find it hard to accept and appreciate the hard work you put into your craft. Most time you might have to explain to people why your work is special and they will doubt your suitability for the job. People will negotiate your work as though they are bargaining with pepper sellers. Even though you think your work is good enough, they little appreciation for it will make you think less of your work.

Rejection And Disappointment

Disappointment is a part of a man’s journey. Likewise is it a part of the journey of a creator. Writers have their scripts rejected by publishers, Photographers are told that their works are not good enough for the exhibition they are putting in for. An artist has his work turned down by art curators. This in essense means that disappointment is part of the journey of the creator. You might even have established people in your industry tell you they will help your work get the limelight it deserves, but at the end of the day they fail to do so.

When you get disappointed, or your work gets rejected, take consolation in the words of Tony Clark “Life is all about setbacks. A life lived without disappointment is a life lived in a cocoon. People have recovered from far worse setbacks.”

Being Broke

I have personally had to live with being broke. Despite creating a craft that is worth a lot, you still have to worry about surviving the month with cash in your pocket. This usually happens when you just started off. Your hustle is not paying off yet. The funny part is that being broke has inspired have inspired creativity in most art creators. Popular creative have narrated how hunger has driven them to do things that they are now acclaimed for today.

It is, however, important to get the best out of your broke status.

Discouragement

You will have a lot of people tell you that you cannot achieve what you set out to achieve. Some will give you a lot of reasons why you may not make it in the endeavor you have picked out for yourself.

Doing Work for free

This is important reality in the journey of a creator. You will have to live with doing jobs for free. In fact, you will beg people to render service for them for free. This is a time of growth. It is a time you build your brand, experience, acceptance and confidence.