It takes guts to be a creative and a professional one at that; whether you are a writer, artist, designer or photographer. Most people know that this field is built on passion, but passion alone cannot assure one of success. Sometimes the behaviours and mindsets we adopt are usually signs that we might fail as a creative before we even start to make progress.
1. You wait for perfect inspiration
One of the biggest traps you can fall into is believing that exceptional ideas come in perfect ways. The thing is, if you keep waiting to have a perfect mood, weather, or idea before you make a move, you’ll never create anything.
This particular habit is a true sign that you might fail as a creative.
2. You are mainly after compliments
No lies, it feels amazing when someone loves your work and compliments it. The giddy feeling that follows positive feedback is awesome, but if that’s the only reason you create, you are setting yourself up to fail as a creative.
Relying solely on external validation means that your motivation will disappear the moment you get a bad review, a rejection, or just silence.
3. You finish work hastily
No one is saying you should drag your work, but great creative work hardly happens on the first try. If you finish a painting, website design, or an article draft and immediately decide you are done without review or even revision, this is a bad sign; a red flag.
Hastily completing your work shows that you are afraid of hard work and dedication to excellence. This rush to finish is a clear path for you to fail as a creative.
4. You ignore the business side of things
See, many creatives love creating but hate the not-so-interesting part of it: contracts, pricing, invoicing, branding, and marketing.
If you don’t pay attention to the business side and think your talent alone will make you money, you will fail as a creative person financially.
You must treat creativity as a profession, and every profession needs to make money to survive.
5. You refuse to learn new things
The creative space is always changing. There’s always a shift in technology, an update of tools, and a change in the interests of its audience. If you decide that you are ‘good enough’ and stop learning new skills or upskilling and exploring new methods, your work will become old and boring in no time.
Being stuck in your old ways is a sign that you’ll fail as a creative in this modern world.
In all you do, just choose growth because it matters not whether you see the signs, but what you do about them.