Ever worried about what others think of your creative work? Ever felt the social media tumbleweed, when it feels like no one is paying attention to what you’re putting out there? Ever compared yourself to others in your field? Welcome to the world of self doubt as a designer! The good news is, you’re not alone, and there are some actionable steps you can take to improve your level of self doubt in your creative projects.
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Show Notes for This Episode:
[1.00] How all creatives experience self doubt
[1.50] Why there is no A to B straight line for designers
[2.30] Why creating is like making cookies!
[3.00] Why you feel like you ARE what you create
[4.00] Lisa’s potential for a children’s book
[4.55] Why creatives are insecure, but not psychos!
[5.30] Creatives are intense and passionate people (the perfect storm for self doubt!)
[6.20] Confirming your lack of success
[7.05] Social media leading to self doubt
[8.00] Why comments matter most
[8.45] The dreaded tumbleweed!
[9.30] Why to expect tumbleweeds early on (and why this is ok)
[10.10] Audit yourself in terms of what you engage with
[11.20] Why you should engage with other’s work
[12.40] Why social media is ego driven
[13.00] Client feedback leading to self doubt
[14.15] You won’t please everyone
[15.00] Why the client is usually right
[16.20] Staying motivated if your work is mediocre
[17.45] Why we are aware that our work isn’t great yet
[18.45] The important of a higher purpose
[19.40] Getting out of your head, and being less ‘me, me, me!’
[21.00] What is the work we do that doesn’t feel like work?
[22.45] Ian loving the idea stage
[24.45] Ideas can take a while to come to fruition
[25.20] Why challenging yourself results in self doubt
[26.00] How passion can reduce self doubt
[27.00] When people struggle with hitting their stride
[28.00] Why collaborations can fall into the same trap
[29.10] Lisa’s experience of self-doubt making a Design Cuts product
[29.50] Self doubt can make or break a project
[30.30] Why you shouldn’t compare yourself to others
[31.20] Dustin’s shedding of self doubt
[32.05] Forget what everyone else thinks!
[32.20] Look at the long-term trends to feel better about your journey
[34.00] Why social media can drive you to distraction
[34.40] Feeling really stressed looking at others in your space
[35.30] Why comparing to others wastes your time
[36.35] Why it’s wise to be a tortoise
[37.50] Focusing, without as many distractions
[39.00] The importance of switching off
“A must for every creative freelancer (or those aspiring to freelance). Thank you for being so… honest! Such a wealth of information from people I admire who have ‘been there and done that’. Listening to the podcast every week feels like I’m among friends. Can’t wait for more episodes!” – AG_GD
This was a wonderful podcast, guys!
I still feel very young in my design/illustration career and was just thinking today that I wish I had some mentors to talk to – and then this podcast came along.
It was so nice to just hear all of these respected designers/illustrators talk (even laugh) about the constant self-doubt that we as creatives all deal with – no matter what stage of your career we’re in. The tips they offered to help move past self-doubt (and our cultural obsession with “Likes”) are great. Thank you so much, I’ll be looking forward to next week’s podcast!
Thanks for another week of inspirational thoughts while I work away. I closed the window. Then thought about your self doubt and the missed opportunity to give a boost to YOU today. I reopened said window and am commenting. I look forward to more of your design conversations.
Taking the chance to send thanks to Tom for Design Cuts – a recent discovery on my part (any hope of a font collection sale of minted.com approved fonts!?) ; and to Lisa who’s work I adore. Looking forward to discovering more of what Ian and Dustin do b/c I haven’t heard of you prior to this show. And – now I feel just terrible b/c I don’t want to cause more self doubt either. Hmmm. I can’t win here can I? ;)
Thanks for the inspiration. Three cheers to doing what you LOVE and feeds your heart and soul inspiration. I’ve taken the leap into the world of stationary design through minted at the moment, and find so much joy with that base of work than the freelance that’s been paying the bills.
Thanks Eric, so glad to hear that :). I hope you continue to enjoy the show.
Ah thanks mate, that’s really appreciated, especially coming from you :). Hopefully we can have you on the show some time.
Loved this podcast. Extremely timely…
Thanks!
The timing of your show is inspirational .I was just thinking this morning about how things were not coming together for me and trying to start a home business and then your show gives me so much more energy and joy .The four of you have inspired me and giving me some self-confidence and I cannot tell you or express my My thanks for your time on this show and everything you put into it. Thank you so very much for sharing the deepest part of your inspiration and sole.
Thanks so much for the amazing feedback Karen. Starting a home business is one of the scariest but most amazing decisions you can make, and we’re totally behind you with your venture :). I’m so glad this show was able to give you a little boost of joy, that’s more than we could ever ask for! Do keep us updated with how your new business takes off, and if you have any specific questions we can help to address for you, please let us know.
Absolutely loved listening to this. Spot on. There’s so many of us that feel the same and feel like we’re the only ones. We’re not islands. Thank you for the honest chat! Was having a major self-doubt day today and this popped into my inbox. Big love! P
Thanks so much for your comment Poonum, I couldn’t have said it better myself :). Part of the reason we started these weekly calls was so that we could realise we weren’t the only ones going through this stuff. I think it’s important to realise that those self-doubting days are all part of the journey, and hopefully this episode gave you some ways to get through it, and realise how normal it is at the same time :). Thanks for listening!