7 Experiences That Can Leave Creatives Feeling Not 'Good Enough'

Every one of us is influenced by the circumstances in which we live: the systems into which we were born, the dynamics within our families, and our life experiences. 

In my last blog post, I wrote about 10 Common Self-limiting Beliefs That Show Up In Creatives and I explain briefly what a self-liming belief is.

In this post, I wanted to share seven of the experiences I have heard repeatedly from clients and some which I have experienced on my creative journey, which were at the root of many self-limiting beliefs, and in particular, the SLB of not being 'Good Enough.'

1. Being criticised or embarrassed by a teacher or a peer. 
   
   In most classes these days, there will be a time when the teacher or lecturer asks everyone to show their work to the group. In Further and Higher Education settings, these sessions are called 'Group Critiques'.
   
   For many, this experience designed to inspire is often extremely challenging and uncomfortable as your peers and teacher look closely at what you've created, and everyone is encouraged to give the dreaded 'constructive' feedback.
   
   If someone in the class didn't like you, they would often give you a list of improvements or say nothing. If you were on top of your work, the teacher might go easy on you, but if you were late that week or hadn't done something you were meant to last term, the chances are you could get a public scolding.
   
   For some folks, this might have motivated you to prove them wrong, pull up your sleeves and do better. For others with less confidence at the time, it could have resulted in you feeling more withdrawn and even giving up.
   
   
2. Not getting great grades. 
   
   If you didn't get the grades, you or your parents were hoping for in your art and design subjects, not reaching this societal marker of success could have left you feeling like you're not 'good enough'.
   
   When often getting 'good grades', especially in creative subjects, isn't always solely assessed on your creative abilities or delivery, but on other factors like research, evidence of exploration, evaluations, presentation skills, how often you are on time for your lessons and even your contribution to class discussions.
   
   
3. Not winning a competition, placement, scholarship or job. 
   
   Putting your best foot forward and not getting what you aspired for can feel like rejection, and that your best isn't 'good enough', when 9 times out of 10, it's that they found somebody else that fits exactly what they were looking for. 
   
   
4. Being compared or comparing yourself to others. 
   
   Either to your more academic siblings, work colleagues, a past version of yourself, a stranger on social media or your peers.
   
   Even if there was a time when someone you were trying to attract romantically chose to be with someone else over you, this event outside of your creativity could still get you questioning if you are 'good enough' in the profound.
   
   
5. Not selling. 
   
   If your creations aren't selling at the frequency, you would like, or at all, this can leave you questioning if what you create is 'good enough' or if you're a 'good enough' creative or business person.
   
   When the truth is, it's more likely your product needs some refining and/or you're not putting your work in front of enough of the right people. 
   
   
6. Your loved ones ignore or disapprove of what you do. 
   
   When your family doesn't support you or even pay interest in your creative vision or passion, this can result in you feeling hurt, alone and questioning if they think you are 'good enough' to make yourself a success in the arts.
   
   Which, by default, can cause you to wonder the same.
   
   
7. Being directly told you or your work isn't good enough.
   
   Sometimes in our life, we get the wrong end of someone's day, and they will say to our face, "This is not good enough''.
   
   Maybe the quality is not to a high enough standard yet, maybe you threw something together last minute, and it's not fulfilling the requirements as it should, perhaps, you said something off to a customer, or you missed a deadline with negative consequences.
   
   When this happens, you have two choices, take it personally and do nothing or get to curious and ask for feedback so you can improve next time.
   
   The truth is you are constantly evolving and learning, and trying to make a success out of your creative passion with zero tolerance for mistakes is both a sign of perfectionism and like expecting to get hole-in-one every time you play mini-golf. It takes practice and lots of it. 
   
   But that doesn't mean, being told you're not good enough might not have affected you in some way. Embarrassment and shame are two of the most vulnerability-inducing emotions. If you have listed to my first podcast episode, About Your Inner Critic, you will know that any negative emotions can lead to your subconscious building defence mechanisms like self-limiting beliefs to stop you from experiencing the same emotional pain again. 
   
   

So how do you resolve the self-limiting belief of not being 'Good Enough'?

After hearing the events above, I'm hoping you can resonate, and your subconscious mind has brought a similar event to the surface?

If this has happened, it's a great sign because it means your subconscious can see that you are open to processing and releasing that negative event, so don't disregard it or push it back down!

Instead, sign up for my free 'Good Enough' 2-day mini-challenge, where you'll learn how to process and release these significant memories from your subconscious protection mechanisms using:

• Explorative journalling
• EFT Tapping 
• TIME Techniques™

So you can move on with your plans and ambitions without the self-limiting belief getting in the way of the creative life you crave and deserve.