How to practice non-attachment while still goal setting in your art career
What is non-attachment? A vision in your mind can come up of a monk sitting on top of a mountain, with no ties to any earthly possessions or event relationships. I think that this concept can be misunderstood, so I wanted to write today about how you can use non-attachment to give you a better quality of life and sense of peace as you reach towards your artistic goals.
In your art career, you may have been inspired to set certain goals like make ten paintings by a certain time, be published in a certain magazine, or win a prize or grant, or work with a certain gallery or art fair. Or, your goal could even be monetary, you want to make a certain amount of money with your art this month. You know what your goals are! Goals are great in that they can motivate you to reach greater heights and put a good kind of pressure on you to perform at a level you might not have known was possible.
I’m a big fan of aggressive, exciting, inspired goal setting, and then making a plan to get there! Goals and plans turn wishes into possibilities that become realities once you step into doing the process and the work. They help you get out of bed in the morning with purpose, and give you a healthy sense of accomplishment. We are meant to do great things and it feels good to stretch to our full height, and setting parameters for ourselves like we are getting up at a certain time or completing a painting by a certain deadline can really increase your self of self trust and self esteem. So goals are great!
Now, how does the practice of non-attachment fit into this? The basic premise of non-attachment is that you don’t let external things define or own you. This can include where you live, where you work, the people you spend time with, how much you own, or your accomplishments.
For the purpose of this article, we will be focusing on non attachment as it relates to goal setting in your artistic career. Non attachment is NOT about floating through the world avoiding responsibility or trying to avoid caring about anything. That is actually not healthy and is more about trying to shield yourself from any hurt by not letting anything matter to you. This is not what the heart of non attachment is talking about.
The way to think about non attachment is to think about your goals as a tool. The goals you set help you to rise to a level that is equal with that goal. You are using the goal as a catalyst to help you raise your production level, artistic expertise, or as a locus where you can focus your energies and create something special. But the thing to watch out for is equating your worthiness with achieving that goal.
Think of how sad it is, for instance, when someone loses a competition and is just completely defeated in their spirit. That means that winning that competition meant more to them than just a title or prize — it had become attached to their sense of worth.
When you attach anything to your sense of worth, like making a certain amount of money, working with a certain gallery, or winning a competition, then the stakes are incredibly high for you — because your entire sense of self is on the line if that thing doesn’t happen for you. Subconsciously, you think you aren’t worthy if you don’t win.
Often, this is what drives super successful people, is the desire to feel worthy by accumulating wealth, success, or acclaim. But, this isn’t the healthiest way to do this and there is a better way to attract all those things without the anxiety of your worth of self on the line.
The better way of going after your goals and achieving your artistic dreams is to first, know that you are already worthy. Simply because you are born and are alive, you are meant to be here and you are allowed to take up space. You don’t have do anything or create anything specifically to be worthy of existing and of being loved. That is the first step to releasing a tight grip on attachments — knowing that you already are enough.
The second step is to choose your goals by what your soul and personality is inspired by. Don’t let your goals be the product of other people’s choices, but let the things that spark your imagination be the catalyst for your goal. Choose a goal that feels exciting and challenging for you.
The third step is to use the goal as a symbol, an energetic marker, of where you would like to up level your art game to. Release the attachment of winning the opportunity, getting in the magazine, etc. Your goal is not to get the thing, but rather to become the kind of person whose work is aligned with winning the opportunity.
That way, even if you don’t get the form of the prize, you have become the essence of what you were striving to be. Let’s say you entered a competition where you had to make 10 of your best paintings. And you made these paintings, and stretched beyond what you were capable of, and created the best work you’ve ever made.
And let’s say you lost the competition to someone else. Did you really lose? If you created your best work and unleveled your vibe to a new level, and are left with amazing new work that you can share through other opportunities, then you totally won. This reminds me of the time when I did a fitness competition. For three months I worked out 5 days a week, was very careful about my diet, with lots of fruits and veggies and protein, and entered this competition for a cash prize. I didn’t win, but, it didn’t really matter at the end of that time period because I had already won with the person I had become and how healthy my body had become. Even if I didn’t win, I had become the kind of person who could win.
And when you think like this I promise you that even if you don’t achieve a specific goal, if you truly up level your efforts to match that opportunity, another opportunity will come by and be attracted to what you are doing that is an even better match for you.
So use your goals but let go of the attachment that you have to reach them very specifically or else you are not worthy. You are already worthy, and using a goal is just a way to get clear on where you want to go and create from the mindset of being a gift to the world.
If you create from the mindset of a gift, of doing your absolute and passionate best and caring your deepest and releasing that to the world, then you can be certain that if it didn’t work out, it was because of things beyond your control. And you can practice non-attachment to those things outside your control, which makes life a whole lot more peaceful!
Another way to create more flow and peace within our goal setting is to stop resisting things are. Let July by July and August be August. When we force things, we are trying to pry open a flower bud before it opens, and destroy the process. When we accept the way things are outside of ourselves, we are able to focus on what we can control, which is ourselves. A great example of this is the pandemic.
There is only so much one person can do to try and keep the world healthy. It becomes very upsetting if we try to control that, we feel a sense of frantic frustration and overwhelm. But, if we accept that it is what is happening in the world right now, then we are able to concentrate on the things that we can do. Like keep our immune systems high, practice social distancing, wear a mask, et cetera. We can also ask: what can I be doing during this time in relative isolation? Think of how it can be an opportunity to create something in your work more deeply or more creatively than ever before. Another example is in building a painting. In oil painting, there is the saying “fat over lean” which is to say the leaner materials like lavender spike oil or turpentine go beneath the heavier layers mixed with oil like walnut oil or linseed oil.
But what if we didn’t want to wait between each layer? What if we tried glazing on paint that hadn’t yet dried? We would mess up what was happening. The solution would be to let each layer dry in the time it needs, and build upon it. Accept what is and stop resisting the way things are. Another way to think of this is to “start where you are.” So many times, we compare ourselves to other people, and think we should be further along. So we rush to get to a big goal. Whereas if you fully allowed yourself to be where you are and embrace that, you could make decisions from there that are more measured and more aligned with the kind of life you want to lead.
The last way to practice non attachment is to think of it as operating in the world without tying everything back to ourselves. This can especially relate to art, because our creations are so a part of who we are. They are directly from our imagination, and thus feels very personal. It’s easy when we are rejected from something to take it very personally, when in reality the issue is that we need to have enough love and approval for ourselves. So much so, that even when someone rejects our work, it doesn’t phase us.
Because that decision of you not winning may have everything to do with things outside your control — a curator’s personal tastes, personal relationships with other artists, or preference for subject matter! This is where we can practice non attachment and realize that not everything is about us, and that is a good thing.
This idea of not trying to tie everything back to ourselves is helpful in creating good work, as well. If we lose the idea of the ego when we create, and simply create from a sincere desire to make something amazing as a gift of beauty to the world, then it becomes about something higher than ourselves. Our art we create becomes a gift to humanity, an offering to the world, and is thus elevated as we create it to be more than something that reflects our own abilities. It becomes a sacred duty. And because of that, you’ll automatically have a higher standard of what you make.
So, I hope this helps you as you create and as you continue to make new goals and work towards them in your artistic career!
And, I am giving a free training to artists next week about how to go from uninspired to feeling like an artistic genius — if you’d like to get in on that, just click HERE and you can sign up!
That’s all I have for this week so for now sending you light, love and creativity! And now I would love to hear from you. Have you practiced non-attachment in your art career or life? How has it helped you?
xoxo,
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