you are in control

When we become must frightened about our art, it is often because we feel like we are "out of control" or separate from the process. As though are art - whether words, a pattern or design, or other media, was out there and we had to find it. The truth is that you are 100% in control of everything in your art - and how you react to it. Unfortunately, as artists, we often make poor choices.

As is said in the marketing world, perception is reality. Everything you do, whether you act in love, or in anger, whether you experience joy or are in a bad mood - is your decision. Ultimately, the things that most affect the quality of your art, and of your life, are within your control.

I don't like it when artist's refer to inspiration from God. I believe that God has already given you all the talent and creativity that you will ever need. To wait for "inspiration to strike" is to give up control. If you need inspiration, use the tools you already have. Create an idea nursery, take a class, spend time with people who are inspired. Take action, and take back control.

If I asked you to get really angry, could you do it? Could you think of a time when someone did something that really set you off, and you can feel your body tense, and you can feel the frustrations flow? Conversely, if I ask you to think of the most embarrassing moment you have experienced, can you feel the blood flow to your face? What about the funniest thing that happened to you and your best friend . . . do you feel yourself begin to smile? You control your mind and your emotions. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, no one can make you feel.

There are many things in this world over which we have no control. Loved ones get sick and die. There is crime and poverty and many things over which we could dwell and make ourselves fearful and depressed. The only thing you have complete control over is your own world. You own your mind, your emotions, and your body. You choose how to react.

When I was younger, a family friend taught me a tool that I drag out and dust off when I am dreading something. He told me to picture myself coming home from the event I was dreading and imagine myself being very glad that I had gone. He told me to picture myself as I got ready for bed thinking back on the night and how much fun I'd had, how much better I now knew my new friend, and how much I was looking forward to seeing them again. In other words, he was teaching me to anticipate success!

No one knows what will happen in the future. Maybe you will marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll win the lottery, probably you won't (especially if, like me, you never buy tickets.) What matters today is not what will happen tomorrow, but how you will react to what today brings. If you planned a picnic and it rains, you can picnic inside and have a grand adventure, or you can let it ruin your day. The choice is yours.

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