The Power of Positive Thinking for Creatives
If you’re a creative person who’s experienced moments or even long periods of time feeling unsure about yourself or conflicted, you’re not alone. Creative people tend to examine the external world and to delve deep and ask questions that aren’t even on the radar for most folks. The payoff for their capacity to feel and empathize is that it can be used to positive ends—to make great art. They funnel their pain into their creation, the artist transforms darkness into beauty and into expression, curing or soothing themselves in the process. If that sounds abstract, just think about the many ways the blues transmorphs heartache into soulful, cathartic lament and you’ll get the picture.
Here are a few other ways in which positive thinking can help creatives stay grounded and make the most of their talents:
#1- Positive Thinking Helps You Deal with the Big Stuff
In life, pain is inevitable but if you focus on what’s positive about what you’re doing, then the act of creation and of getting your art out into the world ultimately becomes a life-affirming, positive process. And yes you can be positive while creating something that deals with the darker or sadder stuff of life. Just try to think of one great story that doesn’t contain upset, or one great ballad that doesn’t denote melancholy or saddness. From losing someone you love, to the mayhem of dysfuntional relationships, to grand scale injustice, to experiencing racism or bigotry, all of it can be expressed in art. The creative process gives the artist a safe space to process negative feelings and gain perspective and a sense of inner peace.
#2- Positive Thinkers See Differently
There’s no shortage of self help books that will tell you being positive can greatly help you see the potential opportunities others tend to miss. Being negative can narrow one’s vision and make it hard to see the upside of toiling away at making your art whether that’s writing, painting, making music, or making beats. Staying in a positive mindset can help you endure, reach your goals, and thereby boost your confidence bigtime.
#3- Being Positive Can Help You in Your Career
Merely being a positive, proactive person who’s also creative and hardworking can take you far. Many people in positions of power choose to surround themselves with the people who energize them, not those who drag them down. It’s hard to deny that getting rained out on a film shoot is a bad day for the director, producer, and crew. Staying positive and proactive at times like this can help the whole team stay focused and energized. Persons in positions of power and authority tend to be drawn towards positive people. They’re more inclined to take a second meeting or return an email if they feel good when they’re communicating with you.
#4- Because Making Art is Hard (Usually)
Ask most professional screenwriters whether writing is hard and they’ll probably tell you it’s brutal. Ask most audio engineers whether the work they do is difficult and it’s likely they’ll chuckle at your naivete. And does it ever get easier? For the most part, not really. The better you get, the more times you get the the finish line with the script you’ve sold, or the song you’ve released, the more accustomed you become to the hard, hard work of achieving your goals. In so doing, you’ll get to know that path to the top of the mountain really well. Having climbed it once, then again, you’ll begin to accept the toil as just part of the journey. And even as you progress, you’ll get to know that in order to grow you need to consistently push past what’s known and what’s comfortable. Do that until it’s second nature. Then, the next time a negative mindset starts to cloud your vision, you’ll know to step back, breathe, and tap into that wiser, more positive view, knowing the trek ahead is well worth the climb.
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