I listen to a lot of business audio books and lectures. I know its kind of crazy since usually artists are not naturally aligned with business theories. I had no formal business training when I started my art business. But lucky for me there are so many resources to learn business skills. Business education has to a lot do with personal development. I have found that even if I am making art as a hobby, approaching my work with a business mindset can actually free me up to make better art. Building a brand aligns with who you are, just as making art aligns with who you are.

Today, Fiberista I wanted to share with you an awesome motivational exercise that can help you pinpoint the areas you need to work on, if you feel your work is not where you’d like it to be. “Where you’d like it to be” I mean: Are you feeling less than enthusiastic about your art work in progress? Do you want tackle a big series, body of work, or new direction, but feel very overwhelmed? Do you feel that your work is just not good enough to even try? These are all limiting beliefs that I think can be overcome with a shift in mindset.

Young entrepreneur Bethany Shipley (http://www.bethanyshipley.com) has a routine she uses every morning to ensure she is showing up completely for her business. She checks in to see if she feels she is presenting her best self, and if not asks herself these 4 questions. On a scale from 1-10 “How hungry am I for success?” “Do I believe that I can do it?” “How big is my enthusiasm?” “How consistent am I?”Once she gets a gauge for these 4 areas, what is scoring low, she can take actions to fix what is holding her back.

So how do you apply this to growing your work?

Start with the question “Am I making art in line with where I want to be?” If the answer is yes, then you are golden… But if there is a smidgeon of yearning, and especially if there is a whole lot of doubt, then lets address it. Everyone is capable of expressing their visual language. Life is too short to not follow through with making art that expresses that visual language.

“How hungry are you to make art?”

Basically this is connected to your why. Why do feel called to make art? What do you dream of doing with your art? Gifts for family? Build a career? Get into a gallery? Or just to create a beautiful expression of what is in you heart? There is no right answer, except it has to be an answer that you HUNGER for. Not what you think others expect from you.

So, if you find you are not feeling as hungry to make art, then check in with your why. Take time to journal about it. Dream about what your future looks like with all the success you dream about. Make a vision board about where you want your art to lead. Be it all your friends drinking their morning coffee from your mugs. Scoring a commission to make public art. Or maybe, selling enough hand spun yarn to buy a saori loom. Build a visual image of what you want, what the money you make from your art will buy, how it will make you feel.

Work with aromatherapy, Rosemary for focus, ylang ylang for clarity. Carry fluorite for direction and quartz for clarity. Meditate focusing on your third eye to catch vision of your dreams, your heart to find the passion. Or just take an afternoon to day dream. Find the why that makes you hungry.

“Do I believe I can do it?”

The answer with out a doubt is YES, you are able to make any art you dream of making. But, actually getting your feelings to align with this undeniable fact is another story altogether. Negative gremlins that whisper nasty disbelief’s in your head can be absolutely crippling. These doubts abort beautiful works of art meant for the world before they begin. These doubts are also rooted in old hurts. Children create without abandon. As we become adults we collect our doubts. Doubts are rooted in self esteem issues. I find that these doubts are often deep and come in layers. We can spend a lifetime digging through these layers.

The first thing you absolutely must do is forgive yourself for any doubts you have about yourself. Not need to know the why. You can forgive yourself regardless. Then gently unwrap the feelings that bubble up. Start with why you think you can’t. Is there an incident where you were told you weren’t creative enough that need working through? Did someone make fun of your ideas? Were you told art activities are a waste of time? Journal, write letters to the ass holes who doubted you and burn them, Cry. After you process each layer give closure by saying “I am sorry, I forgive you, I love you” It can take a lifetime to unwrap the layers behind your doubts. They will be bottomless, but worth slaying each time. I promise. Go slowly, know that releasing doubts is a process.

For aroma therapy use lemon for forgiveness, lemongrass for confidence. Carry rose quartz for self love, citrine for confidence. Meditate on your solar plexus to build confidence. Or just listen to the stories that bubble up, think about how they could have ended differently, rewrite the ending in your mind, leaving you stronger and more determined. Give yourself a happy ending.

“How big is my enthusiasm?”

Sometimes our want to be an artist is actually bigger than the will to do the work. I get it. I can’t even count how many times I have falling off the knitting love for months at a time. But, what is the point in spending time making art if you are not excited to do it. Enthusiasm breeds passion.

Here’s the thing… the difference between good art and great art is the passion behind the visual language. Skills can be learned. It is the passion that comes through in an uncanny way, that makes remedial art look like a highly sought after master piece. Take Jackson Pollock’s work. Seriously? it’s paint splatter. Or Andy Worhol… blocks of color on xeroxed images screen printed. One could argue there is not a lot of skill required to create what they did, but the love of what they did and the way in which the enthusiastically communicated their visual language that made their work highly sought after.

Enthusiasm is driven by inspiration. So if you are lacking enthusiasm, then it is time to take yourself on an artist date. Do something that inspires YOU. IF that is walking in nature DO IT. But if walking in nature just makes you tired, even though you think you should do it, then don’t do it. For me organizing my yarn stash always inspires me. Painting in my art journal is another good one. Go to a museum, go shopping, people watching, binge watch bad TV, cook something. There are no rules for sparking inspiration.

I will however advise you to steer away from going to Pinterest and stealing ideas. If you find yourself doing that, go back to asking yourself if you believe you can do it, and come up with your own ideas.

For aromatherapy  use juniper for inspiration, myrtle to spark joy. Carry carnelian for creative inspiration, chrysocolla for creative expression. Meditate on your heart to find what it is loving and your throat chakra to help you express your heart. If you aren’t already, consider keeping an art journal. It is a safe place to keep inspirations, and work out new ideas. Sometimes for me inspiration and enthusiasm can be found just leafing through my old art journals. There is a lot to be said for remembering times when I felt more creative.

“How consistent am I?”

I have written so many articles about doing the work (Like here and here). I have to admit those posts were written when I myself felt guilty about not doing the work. I also find that most of the time if I am having a problem getting into the studio to do the work, it has more to do about my hunger, belief and enthusiasm. But there are times when we just don’t do the work because, of something mundane like laundry or bed gravity or ice cream.

Little bits of time can add up. So set up a schedule even if it is to just spend 30 minutes 3 times a week in your art. If you are hungrier, then you will probably find a way to slot out more time. But it is way easier to just make it a habit as opposed to trying to squeeze time. This involves leveraging the mundane of routines. Routines lead to consistency. Consistency is the root of actually showing up for yourself and your dreams.

For aromatherapy use balsam fir to feel centered, vetiver to feel grounded, peppermint to for endurance. Carry hematite to ground you, tigers eye for focus. Meditate on your root chakra to connect with the physical routine, and sacral chakra to know the steps you need to create your work. Get out your calendar and schedule your time. Seriously. No need to commit to schedule more than week at a time, but do commit to finding your week’s schedule EVERY week.

The results are not going to happen overnight. And to be honest, sometimes releasing one limiting belief can lead to other issues under the surface. Or your Why may change. Or your old inspiration don’t rock your world anymore. Just make checking in a part of your routine be it daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly. Go easy on yourself, start from where you are and just see it all as a process. Like your work, your mindset will shift and change. But keeping the pieces to your mindset in check will guide you through creating art in line with your heart.