Impostor Syndrome among Creatives: 6 Ways to Overcome It
- Adilla
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
Impostor syndrome can be particularly challenging in the creative field, where art is subjective and often causes creatives to question their abilities. Recognising the signs of impostor syndrome can help you embrace better mental wellness and prevent it from affecting your self-worth.
Table of Contents
What Is Impostor Syndrome?
Impostor syndrome is a psychological struggle of individuals doubting their successes and fearing that they are a fraud in their abilities despite the evidence of their accomplishments.
For creatives, this can manifest in the way they compare their work with others and believe that their successes stem from luck rather than hard work.
Why Is It Common in Creative Fields?
Unfortunately, this could stem from the fact that creative work would need to be public to be recognised, leading to an unhealthy relationship with external validations. With the nature of creative work, where there’s no clear metric of what is acceptable or celebrated in the public eye, creatives tend to be in constant fear that their work will not be recognised at all. This paralyses them from creating artwork at all.
Related article: How to Maintain Mental Wellness for Creative Well-Being
6 Ways to Challenge and Reframe It
Validate Your Feelings
Recognising that your feeling is valid and that impostor syndrome is a common experience to feel is a good first step. Denying the feeling of your self-doubt and struggles will only make it worse.
Focus on Progress and Process Over Result
When doing creative work, we can’t help but focus on the result and how it will end up. This shouldn’t be the case. Trusting the process as you create will shift your focus towards something more positive, rather than self-doubt about not being able to produce something perfect.
Celebrate All Your Wins
Acknowledge and appreciate your accomplishments, whether they are big or small. For example, when you do practice sketches like learning anatomy, that is considered a win. A practice to improve is something to acknowledge.
Practice Self-Compassion
If you knew a friend was struggling with self-doubt, wouldn’t you want to comfort and remind them that their value doesn’t lie in the work they do but in who they are? Give the same compassion as you would to your friend to yourself.
Embrace Imperfections
Before you bring yourself to improve, you would have to embrace the flaws first. This is important so that your goal for improvement comes from a healthy headspace. For example, improving your art to better translate the message you would like to achieve is better than improving because you want to be the best artist. One is a realistic approach; the other is an unrealistic approach.
Challenge Negative Thoughts
When the overly critical voice starts playing in your mind, stop it in its tracks by redirecting your mind elsewhere. Switching to a more positive outlook might take a while, but starting small, like “I chose the right colour for this artwork” or “I think I need a break before continuing,” is a good start to redirecting your mind from negative self-talk.
Key Takeaways
Impostor syndrome is a struggle to be rid of, but it’s not impossible.
Challenging our impostor syndrome is the first step to dealing with it.
By practising the right mindset and tools, changing our minds towards a more positive side is possible.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What causes impostor syndrome in creatives?
There are a few causes that lead creatives to impostor syndrome. Other than an unhealthy relationship with external validation, past experiences and internalised biases of what constitutes “real” creative work could be a driving factor.
While creative work is subjective to individuals, unfortunately, there are stereotypes in the creative field that creatives with an art style that’s not familiar to the public could be singled out unknowingly.
How do I stop comparing myself to other artists?
While it is not easy to stop ourselves from comparing ourselves to other people, recognising that everyone’s creative journey is different is a good first step. For example, Claude Monet began painting in his 30s but only received recognition in his 40s when he created his unique style.
So, if you must compare your art with other artists, use it as a tool to improve yourself rather than bringing yourself down.
How can I build creative confidence?
There are many ways to build creative confidence. One of them is experimenting with different forms of creative work, or even something as simple as trying out different colouring or drawing styles. By stepping outside your comfort zone, you can build the foundation of your creative confidence.
Are there practical ways to reduce self-doubt?
While mentally it’s hard to fight back our self-doubt, having physical proof of our achievements and successes can help reduce that self-doubt even just a little bit.
Author Bio
With a background in Arts English, Adilla has been a casual writer for various hobbies like parodies of animated shows and plots for board games. She loves to read anything and everything from fantasy stories to articles on tips and tricks. Now an advocate for mental health and effective project management for the creative industry. Currently, Adilla resides in Malaysia and is a creative writer at TESSR. To know more about her, check out her LinkedIn.
Comments