5 Important Lessons To Persistently Commit To Your Ambitions
How To Crush Fears And Achieve What You’ve Always Dreamt Of
I believe we all have dreams about an ideal life, a person we want to become, or an ideal place we want to live. It could be becoming a writer, starting your own blog, becoming an artist, starting your own business, or simply trying something new. They sound so exciting but also scary at the same time. Fear will be there and follow you in every step.
So now I want to share with you some lessons that would help you overcome any fear, persistently pursue the creative path, and do what you love to do.
#1. You suck
You need to accept that you might suck or really suck at the beginning steps. This is the most important mindset if you want to let go of fear and doubt about doing the thing you love.
Many of us tend to “rush” to become experts at things we love to do. It’s understandable. But it is very likely that you soon would feel frustrated, disappointed, and burned out at this very beginning stage. Then it will be hard to keep you motivated at doing the thing consistently.
Think about it, nobody is going to become an expert after one night, even geniuses have to take the baby steps. So try to be gentle with yourself at this stage.
#2. Ignore what people say
Because you might suck at the beginning so it’s very likely that you get criticized or judged by other people. Even when you are already an expert, there are still some lousy days that you suck and get judged. Even if you never suck at all, people still criticize. That’s the world. That’s reality.
When I just started my Youtube channel, my videos sucked. One day I took the courage and re-watched all of them. I couldn’t stop cringing at myself. Now, my videos are still pretty lame, and I still say stupid things. But the point is we all say, we all said and we will say stupid things; the difference is who will take the courage, press the record button and upload the video.
If people love your work, then great. If not, too bad. If they absolutely hate it and insult you and your work, then tell them as politely as possible(this is what I learned from the book Big Magic): “go create your own f*cking art!” or “go do it yourself!”. Then go back to your thing, continue to create, continue to practice. STUBBORNLY!
#3. Don’t ask yourself what you want to become
Instead, ask yourself “Am I willing to bear all the SH*T that will come along during this journey?”
If you want to become a successful writer like Stephen King, a famous artist like Bob Ross, a movie star, a millionaire, or any of your idols…, don’t observe their fruits!
Don’t observe their bright moments, instead, observe all the challenges, disappointments, frustrations, and hardships that they had to face throughout their journeys. Then ask yourself “ Am I willing to face these challenges and commit to my journey no matter what happens?”.
#4. Don’t turn your dreams into a burden
When I decided to become an artist 2 years ago, I quit my job to become a full–time artist and hoped to succeed soon. But the financial burden daunted me. I didn’t want to be some depressed artist struggling with a financial issue, so I subconsciously passed the burden on to creativity, putting it in charge of earning money for me.
Now I realize how greedy I was to demand something like that. Creativity already brought me joy and happiness and still, I demanded it would bring me money.
I don’t make enough money from what I love to do but I still feel happy, light, and abundant. Because I have a part-time job in which I earn enough money for living and still have an adequate amount of time doing things I love. Surprisingly I become more productive and inspired than when I have 24/7 days with creativity.
It’s like you are living in two worlds: the mundane world and the sacred world. Sometimes it’s even better to live balanced in both worlds. Spending some time in the mundane world would make you miss the sacred world even more and make you appreciate every single minute you have with creativity. It’s so damn passionate, isn’t it?
#5. Think of fear as a crying baby
Fear is a normal human feeling, it’s a part of development. Just don’t let it hold you back.
Elizabeth Gilbert once said in her book Big Magic that fear is like a crying baby sitting on the back seat of your car but wanting to drive the car. Of course, you will not let the baby drive the car. Just accept its presence, accept its annoying sound but you are still in the driving seat of your car.
Acknowledge that fear is always accompanying you along the journey, but never let it replace your driving seat and be in the controlling position of your life.
#Final Thoughts
No matter which road you take, just trust in the unfolding of your journey. Because it will navigate you to where you need to go and give you signs if you go wrong. All you need to do is pay a little more attention and follow your fascination. The rest will take care of itself.
If you enjoy my writing, buy me a coffee here. I’d be grateful for it.
If you like articles on Medium, come join the community to read limitless articles and get an opportunity to earn money from writing. Sign up for a membership using this referral link. It doesn’t cost you extra and I can get a little commission. It’d really make my day!
