Please read this. Actually, forget it. Well....can you read it but don't tell me what you think. Ok, just go for it! Give it to me straight. Fuck!
My names Martin Sullivan but everyone calls me Sully. I'm an artist (I even cringe when I say that to people) and the one thing I want most in the world is for my work to be seen and loved. And guess what?, that also terrifies the shit out of me!
I hate bumping into people on the street. I hate going to a party and not knowing anyone there. I hate sitting in a cafe on my own. I hate sitting on one of those seats on the bus when your facing someone (seriously what is that?) Basically I hate feeling exposed.
So you can imagine my terror when I decided that it was time for the world to see my art. I felt like a gaping wound. The thought of painting for a living and showing all of you my work filled me with excitement and joy, followed by an abrupt feeling of fear and doom culminating in a lovely dose of everyone's favourite imaginary friend, anxiety!
Its not so much the fear of failure for me. Its the feeling of rejection. Art is such a personal thing so to showcase your work is to showcase yourself. That's always been my biggest problem when striving to achieve my goals in anything I do. 'What if people don't like my stuff?', What if I get asked questions about my work that I don't know how to answer?, What if my work offends people?'.
But you know what happened? I put my stuff out there and people loved it. Naturally I received the odd negative comment or two from people who just didn't like my work and thought they best tell me that. Other than that I was met with so much positive feedback and well wishes. It wasn't long before I was unveiling a new piece every few weeks and absolutely loving every minute of it. Now I post on social media regularly and with bold enthusiasm and confidence in my work. I've never felt so proud of myself!
My names Martin Sullivan but everyone calls me Sully. I'm an artist (I even cringe when I say that to people) and the one thing I want most in the world is for my work to be seen and loved. And guess what?, that also terrifies the shit out of me!
I hate bumping into people on the street. I hate going to a party and not knowing anyone there. I hate sitting in a cafe on my own. I hate sitting on one of those seats on the bus when your facing someone (seriously what is that?) Basically I hate feeling exposed.
So you can imagine my terror when I decided that it was time for the world to see my art. I felt like a gaping wound. The thought of painting for a living and showing all of you my work filled me with excitement and joy, followed by an abrupt feeling of fear and doom culminating in a lovely dose of everyone's favourite imaginary friend, anxiety!
Its not so much the fear of failure for me. Its the feeling of rejection. Art is such a personal thing so to showcase your work is to showcase yourself. That's always been my biggest problem when striving to achieve my goals in anything I do. 'What if people don't like my stuff?', What if I get asked questions about my work that I don't know how to answer?, What if my work offends people?'.
But you know what happened? I put my stuff out there and people loved it. Naturally I received the odd negative comment or two from people who just didn't like my work and thought they best tell me that. Other than that I was met with so much positive feedback and well wishes. It wasn't long before I was unveiling a new piece every few weeks and absolutely loving every minute of it. Now I post on social media regularly and with bold enthusiasm and confidence in my work. I've never felt so proud of myself!
And now here I am again, starting a blog, scared of you, scared of what you'll say and what you'll think.
What I'm trying to say is that if you're putting yourself out there, in whichever way that may be, and your scared, don't worry because firstly, you're not alone. There are so many people that feel this way when starting something new. I can't promise you that everything you try will work, but what I can promise you is that the buzz you get from doing it, that kicks the shit out of any self doubt you ever had.
Secondly, if you're scared of what others will think, then congratulations, you're human. If you wanna achieve something you have to make peace with the fact that no matter what you do in life people are gonna talk about you, so give them something to talk about.
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'If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough.' Muhammad Ali
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The fear of putting yourself out there is so much worse than actually putting yourself out there. Don't let that fear hold you back. Don't think of it as fear, think of it as an obstacle. Then sit on top of it like a fucking throne!
Things are so much easier and enjoyable if you change how you see it. But we'll talk about that another time.
Things are so much easier and enjoyable if you change how you see it. But we'll talk about that another time.
If you've made it to the end of this then thank you so much for reading it. My appreciation for the support I receive never has and never will wilter. As I come to the end of this my fear is also fading and the buzz is setting in. I did it, I put out my first blog. What did you think? Please feel free to comment, share, recommend and pin if you like.
If this post helps you in some way then its served its purpose for me.
Hope you have an amazing weekend. Now go out and turn that fear into something amazing, I dare you!
Speak soon ❤
Art is for everyone. Sully