Are you getting in your own way?

I was invited onto The Curator's Salon podcast, hosted by the lovely @thegitajoshi, and we chatted all about my story, how becoming a mother was the catalyst to my journey of self discovery, daily life as an artist and about living with self doubt.

As I listened back to the episode there was a segment that stuck with me most :

As I digested those words, I started to think in what areas of my life am I still getting in my own way? What am I stopping myself from doing? What am I still doing because I think I should, and what am I not doing because I think I shouldn’t? and what am I not doing because I’m telling myself I can’t?

This left me with many mixed feelings, but also much clearer about many projects I have been sitting on the fence about.

So many clear answers started to roll through my mind and the reality is as I enter my 40th year, I’m a little more aware that life really is short, as it is long, and if you feel pulled to do something, then you have got to give that thing a try.

“What if I fail?”, is often our response to the prospect of trying something new.

Failing is part of the process, failure is learning, failure is being brave, failure is new, it is courage and vulnerability rolled into one and it is the step that will serve you to problem solve in the future.

However I believe when we make decisions about starting new projects or trying new things we should be asking ourselves this, “Is this choice going to help make the process of creating the life that I am working to create enjoyable for me?”.

Because when we feel the way we want to feel when we create, we doubt our choices and abilities much less because we feel good in our creative process. This then makes us feel more confident in the decisions that we took to get there and therefore more sure about our path.

So where have I been getting in my own way?

It turns out in many areas of my life! However I’ll just stick to telling you about one. I've had thoughts of starting a journal type blog on my website for a while now, like a virtual sketchbook where I record, thoughts, feelings, WINS and 'A HA' moments that I want to share with you.

So, here am I! But how did I get here?

I asked myself :

• Why is this doing this thing important to me?

• What purpose will it serve in my personal life and/or in my business?

• What is the ultimate goal of doing this?

• Does it align with my values?

• Do I have the skill set or can I learn the skill set to achieve this?

• Will the process of creating this make me feel the way I want to feel?

• By saying YES to this will I be taking another step forward to creating the life I want to create?

For me the overriding answer was of course YES. Do I have doubts? Of course! Am I afraid I will fail, not be consistent or waste my time? Of course. But I am standing up to those familiar voices of self doubt and giving myself permission to stand up to yourself, for myself.

Now you all know by now that I am a very visual person, so it is no surprise that to keep myself focused and my mind off those negative thoughts, I use visual aids, images that remind me of the life I am working to create and how I wish to carry myself through that life.

It is important to me that my art serves a purpose in the world outside my studio and as I have been creating my latest body of work I have had this goal at the forefront of my mind. To create visual aids for women like you who suffer with self doubt and remind you just how ‘Strong and Capable’ you truly are. My hope is that you will find comfort in this series and that you will find a particular lady that resonates with you in the area that you need support. This lady is called ‘Standing Up For Myself’.

January was full of technical issue solving (something I will talk about in a future post), but #johannasprintshop is now open! You can also sign up to my newsletter and I will let you know about new print designs. I gift all my new subscribers with a 10% discount on their first order and understand that the inbox has become a sacred space for some of us as it can often be another source of overwhelm. So to be clear from the start, I use my newsletter to send you updates about this blog, new work, thoughts and feelings about my creative process and information about collection launches and exhibitions, and of course the occasional gift code!

So tell me friends are you getting in your own way? In what part of your life do you need to step down and allow yourself to keep walking? Email me, write to me in the comments below or send me a DM via Instagram.

Until next time please remember just how ‘Strong and Capable’ you truly are.

Much Love,

Johanna