I wanted to write a little bit about uncertainty today. For artists one of the big challenges can be the long period you might go through between starting your path as an artist and getting to a place where you feel professionally and especially commercially established. Many people burn out or burn through their funds trying to get there. Most of this period is spent in a mental battle of uncertainty. Am I good enough? Am I going to make it? Am I on the right path? Would another path be better? Is art even a good idea?
Certainty is something that can prove elusive even to established artists. It seems that every year some famous artist dies of an overdose or suicide. Mental health issues can compound the uncertainty that any artist feels towards the challenges of art. New economic dynamics are constantly at play over the market for art, which can have all kinds of negative emotional impacts. 2D animation switching to 3D, the appearance of digital art, the rise of AI art. All these constant changes just add to the difficulty.
Some deal with uncertainty by limiting risk. Taking creative jobs that are more stable and provide a steady source of income. Some decide to finance their creative pursuits by entirely non-creative jobs. This is a good strategy for not breaking the bank. In fact, a great way to get started with art is by having a day job that can finance your studies and practice time while you are starting out. This is an especially valid path for writers.
For the people that choose the most creatively challenging jobs, the ones where the odds are not great, I think uncertainty is something that they must just learn to mitigate. I do not think you will ever find a place where you feel consistent absolute certainty with what you are doing while following one of these paths. I know I do not.
For me, I must always consider the decision of pursuing what I call either horizontal or vertical growth. Horizontal growth is learning new areas and fields that might seem easier than the one I am on (like switching from art to law). Vertical growth is learning deeper knowledge of the specialty I am already pursuing. Horizontal growth is sometimes an unhelpful escape because any other pursuit you move into is going to have depth and challenges as well and eventually you may face the same dilemma you were in before.
On the other hand, horizontal growth, or diversification can grant you new and useful skills that can supplement your primary skill. The dilemma is whether you are supplementing or abandoning the primary pursuit. It is fine to do either, but you want to do it intentionally. Some recommend using a T approach, where you have one primary skill and a bunch of small supplementary skills, this lets you be nimble while still pursuing mastery of some area.
I do not have an easy solution for uncertainty. This post is more a statement of the problem than a prescription. I will say though that my main current way of dealing with this is threefold: (1) be thankful for what you have (write a list if you need it), (2) use a lot of positive self-talk, and (3) focus on the present moment as much as possible.
What are you doing at this moment? Are you holding a pen? Are you drawing a line? Are you thinking about possible future problems? Go back to thinking about that line. That shape. That drawing. That story. That thing that you want to do. Whenever your mind begins to stray try to notice it and move your focus back to the creative process you are engaged in. You can either dedicate your energy to uncertainty and doubt or to your creative performance.
Focusing on the present tends to improve performance, which tends to boost certainty.
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