What a Relief it is!

'Fraidy Cat paints a rose, 7:5 digital art ©2018 

Expectations. Do you know what yours are? Whether we recognize them or not, we all have them. To keep from spending time in an emotional ditch, I've found it's definitely worthwhile to lift the hood and take a closer look at how that program running quietly undetected in my brain is interpreting my day. 

As much as I try to be aware of why I do what I do, I can get blind-sided by my own expectations, especially when it comes to creative projects. That road has an abundance of the bone-jarring little rascals. If I find myself overwhelmed with an intense case of disgruntled grumpiness, I know it's time to pull over and get out the shovel.

Expectation pothole #1. This finished project should look or sound exactly how I imagined it! Arrrgh. The disparity between what I imagine and what ends up existing in the real world can be very disheartening.

Expectation pothole #2. Why is this project taking so much %#&* time? It was supposed to be done by now! Thinking I can do more than I can in the time I have is an especially nasty pitfall for me.

Expectation pothole #3. I thought they would love that artwork as much as I do. Hmmph! It can really hurt when something you worked so hard on gets negative feedback, or gets dismissed as "not serious art."

Thankfully, over the years I have learned to keep some pothole fillers on hand. The most important of these was to make of up mind not to let these jolts stop me completely. The second was learning how to adjust my expectations.

Expectation adjustment #1   It's ok if this project doesn't look exactly how I imagined, the process of creating is after all, a process! What did I learn? What do I like about what I made? Make a plan how to do better next time.

Expectation adjustment #2  Accept my creative process as valid as it is and stop comparing myself to others. Keep track of how much time it really takes me to make something. Remember to include time for making mistakes!

Expectation adjustment #3  People are going to like what they like and I can't do one thing to change whatever that is and that's o.k. If I can make an adjustment to suit them, great. If not, send them to another artist. I will find other folks who love what I do as it is.

This is just a sampling, but next time you feel your overwhelm reaching the boiling point, stop and measure how high your expectations are. I can guarantee, it's a real relief to release some of that pressure! 

Happy creating,

>^-^<

Tina