Resolutions

New Year, new resolutions? Kind of. My resolution for the new year is to work on my stuff. Not on stuff for clients – stuff that I want to work on.
Not so simple, even though it sounds easy enough. And not so revolutionary, either. So I’ve been asking myself lately why I never seem to get around to doing what would further my artistic development. If there’s no client and no deadline, my brain seems to think, “I still have tomorrow.” I have all these great ideas in my head, but that’s just where they seem to stay – in my head.

Why do we think only other people can take something away from us? That it’s only important if there is a client or boss, or a parent or child behind what we do? I don’t think clients and other people can really take opportunities away from us. We take them away from ourselves, and blame others. (We’re such a capable generation, aren’t we?) And that’s so much easier to live with than acknowledging the fact that we’re in our own way. Not half the time, but all the time. Only sometimes it’s masked as the fault of others.
Does that mean the world is a big bad place and everyone is against us, even we are? No. I’d like to think otherwise. So how do we get out of this blame game? How do we finally begin to empower ourselves? These three things seem to work for me – and not just because it’s January and I’m more motivated than I usually would be.

Acknowledge
For one, acknowledge the problem. Work on it. Sit down, every day, and work on something that benefits you. Not because you’re being paid for it, but because you want to work on it. Without thinking about impending failure – or impending success (which is an even scarier thought). But simply because you want to get it done. And when you fail to work, you’ll have a nagging feeling of having let someone down – yourself. That’s a pretty unpleasant feeling. But once you’ve acknowledged it, it can blossom like a flower and lead you to productivity.

Talk
Another thing you can do: talk about the problem. I don’t mean going around complaining to others that you ‘want to but can’t,’ or that ‘life is so hard.’ More like how you complain about work-related problems to coworkers or fellow freelancers: you complain, but you’re not looking for a solution. So, just as you would for a client, do it for yourself. Vent about your shortcomings in order to come to a solution. But don’t ask others to solve your problem. You don’t need to keep it all in, but don’t expect someone else to solve your problems for you, either.

Value
Last but not least, I think the main problem is that we don’t value the work we do for ourselves as highly as we value the work we do for others. This needs to stop. Just because you’re not making money off of what you’re doing (for the moment), or society may not be ready for your ideas, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t allow yourself to let them happen.

Success doesn’t just happen

We live in a culture of failure-before-success-stories. People are skeptical if you’re successful on the first go. That’s all well and good, seeing as things take time. But what these stories also foster is a belief that you’ll arrive there someday anyway, no matter how hard it may seem. But: you don’t simply arrive at the twentieth version because the magic amount of time allotted for that particular endeavor has gone by, without having nineteen versions to precede it. You have to get to work. Of course, as an onlooker, you don’t see the countless versions that preceded the final one – you only always see the success. But that doesn’t mean that person woke up one day thinking “Alright, I’ll get to work on that idea I’ve been having for eight years now,” and magically churns out a perfect result. Quite on the contrary, actually. Whether it’s for yourself or for clients:  success takes time. But you also have to use this time for your benefit, rather than simply waiting for it to pass and secretly hoping for the best.