Curating the Curious
Welcome to Curating the Curious, the podcast that celebrates staying curious in life and never settling into a box.
This show is for the creators, the seekers, the explorers, the truth tellers….and the forever students of life.
No matter what age or stage you’re currently at, this is not as good as it gets and it is never too late to begin.
Join me as we explore all of the questions that come with the idea of curiosity. A place where the possibilities are endless and you can always start again.
We expand our lives through curiosity. One of my greatest passions is finding ways to encourage and inspire others to keep pushing, sharing, living, and making things for the world to see.
Curating the Curious
Day 21- Using Self Doubt as as TOOL
"My personal belief is that anybody who doesn't have self doubt or who is not criticizing their work is creating shitty work. It's vague, it's weightless, and it doesn't have any depth to it. I think criticism is that standard, and it's that purity in our brains that's saying, "I'm going to ensure 2 things: 1) that you really want to do this. 2) If you are going to do it, it's gonna mean something." and that's where I think self doubt is amazing." -Trevor Stoddart
Welcome to DAY TWENTY ONE of our new 30-day COMMUNITY PROJECT where we make something with our hands every day in order to improve our mental health. We all realize that creativity heals...it's time to put that knowledge into action.
These episodes will exist here, marked with the days numbered, in order for you to follow along at any speed that you like. Miss a day? Doesn't matter. Just pick up right where you left off and keep making things. These episodes will give us all some accountability, but if you need more, pair up with a partner. It really does help!
Join our creative community by making something today, whether it's for five minutes or several hours—your brain will thank you. Let's do this thing together and turn all of this sh*t into something beautiful!
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My personal belief is that anybody who doesn't have self-doubt or who is not criticizing their work is creating shitty work. It's vague, it's weightless and it doesn't have any depth to it. I think criticism is that standard and it's like that purity in our brains that's saying I'm going to ensure two things One, that you really want to do this and two, if you are going to do it, it's going to mean something. And that's where I think self-doubt is amazing. By Trevor Stoddart, back about seven years ago, there was this podcast that I discovered and it was called your Art Sucks and it was by Trevor Stoddart, the guy who I'm quoting right here, and I'm really sad to discover today that it no longer is on air, like you can't even listen to it. But luckily, I wrote down a few of his quotes on self-doubt and I love it because it's so true.
Speaker 1:We all have self-doubt. If you don't have self-doubt, you're not questioning anything, you're just thinking everything that you make is great. There's no process that you're putting things through, you're just throwing it out there. Hey, I'm perfect. And if that's the case, it's probably pretty likely that the work you're throwing out there isn't great, or at least it's not your best. Self-doubt is a given, so we need to learn how to use it as a tool. Use self-doubt as a tool instead of any hindrance. Just accept it as something that comes along with the package and learn how to use it in your favor.
Speaker 1:The most powerful art out there has a form of truth to it, and reaching a point of truth in artistry comes from self-examination. Self-doubt is part of that. Self-doubt is part of that. It's necessary and it's also universal. We all suffer from the same barriers, it's just some of us find ways to overcome it. Trevor also says that self-doubt is nothing more than a barrier to growth. It tests those with weak wills. Growth it tests those with weak wills. It's a constant companion that reminds us that you, the artist, has worth, but that self-doubt is going to make you weigh that worth.
Speaker 1:Self-doubt comes from the weight of importance that you've taken on to communicate your art. Self-doubt is the barrier, and it's a barrier to prevent people who lack commitment from pursuing it, so it can weed out the people who lack the commitment. If it means something to you, don't allow yourself to be one of those people who gets weeded out. If you're allowing that to take over you, you're probably just giving self-doubt a little bit too much weight. You're focusing hard on it. You're allowing yourself to just draw all those conclusions beforehand. Come up with all the reasons why you shouldn't be doing something or why it's not good enough. You're just giving it too much weight. Who cares? Put it out into the universe, release it. Use your self-doubt when it's necessary and put it away when it's not.
Speaker 1:Develop a more process-oriented outlook. Take your eye off of what that outcome is going to be and just embrace the process. Get into flow, enjoy it and, in the words of Liz Gilbert, make your life a work of art. What you create is not nearly as important as what you become during the process. It's so, so true. Just start looking at your self-doubt, examine it and think okay, this is just making me commit to myself as an artist. I have to tell that voice that says what the hell are you doing? Who the hell do you think you are? And you say I know what I'm doing and I know who I am. Or maybe I don't know what I'm doing, but guess what? I'm going to do it anyway. It's not that important. Self-doubt is a tool. Use it and until we meet again, stay curious.
