Love your framing around success meaning the feeling that you’re doing what you’re meant to be doing and your business feels aligned with your life. That’s it for me too.
Thank you Solas for your comment! It's interesting how you say "this should feel like success" which perhaps suggests that it doesn't always (which I recognise 100%!). Is there anything you do to lean into that feeling of it being a success because you do what you're meant to be doing?
I really identify with your comments about being told ‘ to seek and achieve security at all costs as a child’… and although I have tried to push that voice to the back, it still makes itself known, which in turn, stops me from really pushing ahead….. Will take some time to think about your journal prompts…. Thx Carolyn
It's such a common voice isn't it? And so annoying when we rationally know that we don't need to listen to it, but then it still pops up. I don't know whether something like that ever disappears altogether, but recognising it and journalling a bit around it has given me some more distance from it. Wishing you the same!
You’re such a professional Astrid. Every newsletter gets better. I think that’s one marker of success - excellence at what you do and professionalism - treating what you do with respect and giving it your best.
I wrote a bit about this in one of my own recent letters. Our society ties success with making money. Me, as an artist, always saw myself as unsuccessful because I did not make any money from my art. I even did not call myself an artist for a very long time, because I was sure that, in order to be an actual artist, I had to make money. It took me a long time, and some mental breakdowns, to change this mindset.
Thank you for your comment Katy--it's such a pervasive narrative, isn't it, that link between money and success. I'm glad that you were able to change that mindset! Was there anything in particular that helped you make the shift?
It is. And the worst part is, making money is the opposite of what the creative mind wants. However, it is what society links to success. In our world, I think most creatives would be perfectly content with just creating. But then capitalism comes in shouting how much of a failure we are for not monetizing our work. Real ironic, isn't it? The society that links our success to how much money we make, is the same society that pushes us to poverty by refusing to pay us decently because art "is not a real job".
Oh it took me a while. I'm 27, and I've had these loops of feeling great about my art, but then feeling.like an absolute failure of a human being, for years. Last year I dealt with an episode of depression. It took me 1 year of medication, and long nights of setting my thoughts right, on order to stop associating my artistic value with the amount of money I make. What I'm worth is solely dependant on myself, my skills and my creativity, not money. And I can tell you with confidence now, that I'm worth a lot.
Ugh, i lvoe this! People often ask me how work is going and I never know hwo to respond apart from lots of money! no money! and sharing the joy is such a better option.
It's so fascinating how conditioned we are right?!? In the past with a regular job, and even now with a part-time teaching job, when someone asks me how it's going, I never say "Well I earned X this month!" 😂 Do we tie our identity + our business' worth more to money when we work for ourselves than if we're working for someone else? 🤔 Something I'll ponder about... Thank you for commenting! x
Thank you Joe for taking the time to reply so thoughtfully! You're right, if you're not creating a business that is aligned with who you are and how you want to live your life, you might as well work for someone else 😅 Enjoy your Substack journey! (I love the title of your Substack: I can relate to the "hermit" part, though more mentally than literally).
Love your framing around success meaning the feeling that you’re doing what you’re meant to be doing and your business feels aligned with your life. That’s it for me too.
Thank you Virginia! And I'm glad to hear that you recognise that feeling, it's such a gift to experience that :)
Thank you Solas for your comment! It's interesting how you say "this should feel like success" which perhaps suggests that it doesn't always (which I recognise 100%!). Is there anything you do to lean into that feeling of it being a success because you do what you're meant to be doing?
I really identify with your comments about being told ‘ to seek and achieve security at all costs as a child’… and although I have tried to push that voice to the back, it still makes itself known, which in turn, stops me from really pushing ahead….. Will take some time to think about your journal prompts…. Thx Carolyn
It's such a common voice isn't it? And so annoying when we rationally know that we don't need to listen to it, but then it still pops up. I don't know whether something like that ever disappears altogether, but recognising it and journalling a bit around it has given me some more distance from it. Wishing you the same!
You’re such a professional Astrid. Every newsletter gets better. I think that’s one marker of success - excellence at what you do and professionalism - treating what you do with respect and giving it your best.
Thank you so much for this Janelle, that's so kind of you to say! I hope you're doing well (still crossing my fingers for you for the house 🤞🏻)
I wrote a bit about this in one of my own recent letters. Our society ties success with making money. Me, as an artist, always saw myself as unsuccessful because I did not make any money from my art. I even did not call myself an artist for a very long time, because I was sure that, in order to be an actual artist, I had to make money. It took me a long time, and some mental breakdowns, to change this mindset.
Thank you for your comment Katy--it's such a pervasive narrative, isn't it, that link between money and success. I'm glad that you were able to change that mindset! Was there anything in particular that helped you make the shift?
It is. And the worst part is, making money is the opposite of what the creative mind wants. However, it is what society links to success. In our world, I think most creatives would be perfectly content with just creating. But then capitalism comes in shouting how much of a failure we are for not monetizing our work. Real ironic, isn't it? The society that links our success to how much money we make, is the same society that pushes us to poverty by refusing to pay us decently because art "is not a real job".
Oh it took me a while. I'm 27, and I've had these loops of feeling great about my art, but then feeling.like an absolute failure of a human being, for years. Last year I dealt with an episode of depression. It took me 1 year of medication, and long nights of setting my thoughts right, on order to stop associating my artistic value with the amount of money I make. What I'm worth is solely dependant on myself, my skills and my creativity, not money. And I can tell you with confidence now, that I'm worth a lot.
Ugh, i lvoe this! People often ask me how work is going and I never know hwo to respond apart from lots of money! no money! and sharing the joy is such a better option.
It's so fascinating how conditioned we are right?!? In the past with a regular job, and even now with a part-time teaching job, when someone asks me how it's going, I never say "Well I earned X this month!" 😂 Do we tie our identity + our business' worth more to money when we work for ourselves than if we're working for someone else? 🤔 Something I'll ponder about... Thank you for commenting! x
Thank you Joe for taking the time to reply so thoughtfully! You're right, if you're not creating a business that is aligned with who you are and how you want to live your life, you might as well work for someone else 😅 Enjoy your Substack journey! (I love the title of your Substack: I can relate to the "hermit" part, though more mentally than literally).