Everyone working in the arts will experience internal and external forces that cause them to doubt the wisdom of their choices from time to time.
Understand this: There will always be pressure.
Pressure to justify your choices to others
Pressure to meet the expectations of others, including parents and family
Pressure to attain (or to maintain) a certain “lifestyle”
Pressure to equal or surpass the accomplishments of others
Pressure to earn the respect of peers.
Pressure to be cool, to be contemporary, to be new.
Pressure to choose an easier way when you think the harder way is better, but no one but you will ever be able to tell the difference.
Pressure to do your best when no one seems to care.
Pressure to not disappoint your mentors.
Pressure to meet goals that seem impossible
Pressure to keep up a good front when you are scared or worried or anxious.
Pressure to not feel that you are leaving friends behind if you are successful and pressure to not feel left behind if they attain success before you.
The pressure that comes from the fear that you made the wrong choice.
The pressure to not go backwards.
The pressure to meet your own standards when the standards of others seems lower.
The pressure to rationalize bad decisions.
The pressure to appear uneffected by the anxieties experienced by your colleagues.
Understand this: You are not alone.
Resist the pressure.
You can even make pressure work for you, but you have to be careful not to become addicted to pressure- an addiction that many of us in the illustration community must eventually come to terms with, myself included. Remember that you are doing a good and worthwhile thing, be strong and keep going forward.
Stand up for yourself, be a good person, be true to your vision and work as hard as you can, and you may be surprised how far you go.
Thank you so much for sharing this i think i have to print this list to remind myself that i am not alone..
Thank you Nickson!
You spoke directly to me. Thank you for shining a light onto this unavoidable feeling that we experience everyday but transforming it to be workable, relatable and hopeful. Printed and posted on my studio’s wall, next to the “illustrator’s mantra” that you gave me. 🙂
This text is a beacon in a dark night, thank you Robert.
This is one of the best things I’ve read on MC, at least for where I’m at right now. Thank you for publishing it.
It’s a nice summary of all those annoying feelings that anyone who works in an artistic profession knows well. However, with a few small tweaks, we could extend them to practically anyone, regardless of the job they do. Perhaps this is the very nature of being human, and we live in a world where we are subjected to too much pressure.
This post was very insightful. Great job!
The way you presented complex information so simply is remarkable.