Being a creative is amazing, it’s fun, it’s beautiful and it’s also a mess. There are struggles that we will never be able to escape that are specific to our journey. Like people biting our ideas, dealing with a creative block, or how expensive it is constantly buying new equipment or tools. Here are seven struggles only creatives understand.
1Trial and Error Can be a Bitch
Sometimes things don’t work out. You end up with several png documents for the same project. Let’s not even talk about the amount of money we spend just to test out an idea. Creative Entrepreneurs, a lot of times, don’t know how their ideas are going to turn out; be it a garment a fashion designer is designing, or an installation someone is building, things don’t always turn out how they appear in your head
2Collaboration Struggles
When everyone doesn’t have the same work ethic and creative abilities you may have, when it comes to collaboration, this may cause a problem. You would think basic rules would not have to be laid out when working with others, but in past experiences, Contracts and Nondisclosure agreements are a MUST!
3Copying is the Biggest Form of Flattery… THAT’S A LIE.
It doesn’t make you feel better when you see someone has taken your ideas. Honestly, there isn’t anything that can make ANYone feel better when they encounter this. To spend hours upon hours working on something, putting all of your time, money, and energy into developing an idea and then someone comes along and takes note of all your plans and emulates them. It is possibly the worst feeling ever.
I will say this; anyone who has ever copied me was not successful in the long run. Not to get preachy on you but God (the universe, Buddha, the virgin Mary, place whatever religious belief here) plants ideas within all of our hearts, and what is given to us, we shall reap from. No one can prosper off of something that was stolen. This is also where those Nondisclosure agreements may come in handy. Of course it doesn’t protect you from people who may have seen your idea in another state but for issues like that something as simple as trademarking your intellectual property could help avoid those kind of problems.
4The Block
Having my own site is stressful and I often feel pressured to constantly and consistently produce content. But sometimes the ideas just aren’t good enough according to our own standards. Nothing is worse than having creator’s block. It’s like you want to provide something dope but you don’t want to force it because then it ends up not dope at all.
5Time
Time means EVERYTHING. The struggle is finding the time to work on art, or being in the wrong place when inspiration hits. Timing is everything. I often keep a small notebook on me for when I get sudden ideas out of nowhere. And often when I find myself overwhelmed and not having enough time, I usually just cry but now I’m trying and learning the importance of scheduling and keeping a calendar. These things matter so that you can make sure you are using your time wisely but also as a creative, I understand when the sewing machine isn’t threaded just right or your drawing doesn’t have the right shading which in return takes up more time than you planned.
6It’s Expensive AF
I spend more money on camera and editing equipment than I do anything else. I can not afford to have children because being a creative is taking all of my coins. Then to top it all off, revisiting struggle number one, if I mess up I have to spend MORE coins to fix the error or find a solution. Friends and family who don’t understand, look at you like you’re crazy when you spend $100 on yarn and all you can do is happily explain your new idea in hopes they see the vision and get just as excited.
7“Is It Good Enough” Battling the Jury In Your Head
Will they like it? Will they understand it? You compare yourself to others, questioning your ideas so much that you end up just throwing the entire project away? I know I am not the only creative with this issue. Constantly looking at the work of others or how they have progressed in their journey, so much so that you discourage yourself from a chance to even be great. I have several pieces of artwork, blog posts, and videos that will probably never see the light of day because I constantly ask myself is this even good enough. Worried will my friends, family, or readers like this? Self doubt is real, but the craziest part is the work I doubt the most is the work that seems to get the most praise from others. Don’t let self-doubt keep you from achieving.
There are a lot of things we can do to combat these struggles like contracts, using calender’s, and budgeting, but it’s also good to understand handling these things come with time and experience. I am still working on managing all of these struggles myself, and I am learning to address them one day at a time. What other struggles do you have and how are you managing them?
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