CREATIVE PSYCHOLOGY | Overcoming Obstacles

In full disclosure, I have spent my fair share of time alone in my studio crying from frustration following a particularly bitter disappointment. While a bit embarrassing, I think this is totally normal. Because my work is so important to me and I care so much about it, some disappointments feel like they will crush my heart. Like me, you’ll experience times when you’ll be thrilled with the outcome of a project or with the momentum in your career, and other times you’ll feel as if the only movement you are making is the swift progress of a dropped anchor.

Hope and optimism are important . . .

along with a bit of perspective.

Grit, the stubborn REFUSAL to quit, is the single best predictor of success. There’s one feature that sets highly successful creative people apart from the rest of the pack. Single-minded dedication and the resolve to push through in spite of all obstacles—aka “grit”—is what drives great achievements. In other words, how you react to the inevitable failures along the way will be an important indicator of the end game.

—

JONAH LEHRER,
Imagine: How Creativity Works

Carol Dweck, psychologist and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, has focused her research on how children respond to challenges. She has identified two “mindsets” or approaches that children (and adults) have regarding learning and problem solving. A FIXED MINDSET is the belief that talents and abilities are fixed, that you are innately talented or you’re not. Conversely, a GROWTH MINDSET is the belief that talents and abilities can be further developed through hard work, solid strategies, and collaboration with others; no matter who you are or how smart you are, everyone has the same capacity for growth. This shift in perspective has a huge effect on how we approach challenges that arise.

You can embrace the process, strategy, effort, and possibility of failure

— SEEING IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH —

or you can run from difficulty, never leaving the comfort zone of what you already know you can do. Instead of thinking, “I’m not good at this, I’m not talented, I’m dumb,” you can shift your perspective and think, “I’m learning how to think through problems, recover from failures, and realize I’m getting better.”

This reframing of my personal potential is tied into my belief system around failure. All of these mindful thought processes have liberated me from some of my toxic mental battles.

Another way I combat particularly thorny challenges in a project is to simultaneously maintain a few ongoing, low-maintenance or easy projects. That way, if one of my projects becomes momentarily impossible to deal with, I can pivot to the easier one, then return to the problem project when I’m better equipped to handle it. As you’ll read later in this chapter, a strong, supportive core community can also help you vault over the low points. Remember: making new, vulnerable work and putting it out in the world takes courage.

ASPECT MEDUSA, BUCHAREST

(2013)

Fashion. Credits: Marta of MRA Models, Raluca Racasan (styling), Alex Claudiu Sarghe (hair), Irina Selesi (makeup), Institutul de Arheologie (location), Cristian Movila (producer).