Recently, I read a wonderful article by author Dara Girard called, “The Power of Belief.” Based on her more than 20 years of experience in the industry, she asserted that “a writer’s beliefs are the deciding factor in the choices [they] make and have more of an impact on their success or failure…than the situations and obstacles they face.”
Her message is something that all artists can learn from, I think, and so I’m going to share some bits and pieces of her article with you.
Dara explains that believing in yourself is the key to success:
Establishing an unwavering belief in your gift…will unlock the power of your voice. Your voice will separate you from other[s] more than a marketing plan, great promotional push, or blog tour. It will give you staying power. —Dara Girard
Isn’t that amazing? Doesn’t it feel good just thinking like that? What would change for you if you established an unwavering belief in your gift? Stay in that space for a moment.
Artwork inspiration by Dr Franky Dolan: Ever want so badly to believe in yourself, but you just couldn’t? This image speaks to that moment just before you take that leap, once you have found the strength to believe in yourself. You can be brave, and you will be alright. We must take risks and believe that we can be great once we do. So take that leap of faith, you may just float.. and then fly… Sending Love, Dr Franky Dolan (via Fae Factory/Etsy)
Now, how does it feel if you let the fears and doubts creep in? Not so good, right?
When you don’t believe in your gift, “you might make career plans out of fear instead of faith,” Dara says. You may undervalue your work. You may choose not to submit your work to a publication for fear it’s not good enough. You may accept clients that you know aren’t a good fit for fear of not having work otherwise.
Have you ever noticed that what you focus on becomes brighter? Pick a color and say it to yourself. Keep saying it as you look around the room, and see how your eye is drawn to everything that color, while you gloss over the other colors present.
Can you see how believing in your gift unlocks your voice? If you believe you are uniquely gifted to share your art with the world, you are giving yourself permission to grow as an artist. By denying your gift or acting from a place of fear, you are shutting down the part of yourself that creates and inspires.
So, just for today, choose to believe in your gift.
Let me know how it goes in the comments section.
Cheers,
Standing in your power » KateWatson.net - […] Tuesday, I introduced Dara Girard’s article, “The Power of Belief,” where she says that believing in […]
Needing Inspiration | howlingwind - […] Here’s the link to the blog I read…I’m pretty thankful to have come across it: http://artaligned.com/the-key-to-success-believing-in-yourself/ […]
Standing in your power | Art Aligned™ - […] Tuesday, I introduced Dara Girard’s article, “The Power of Belief,” where she says that believing in […]
Kate Watson - Excellent! Glad to have you here, Greg. Yes, I feel like believing in yourself gives you strength and purpose when you face obstacles. Check back on Friday for more of Dara’s article.
Greg Williams - This is such awesome advice! It sounds like the type of advice we all hear or maybe tell our friends, but we fall pray to ourselves at times. I have been feeling this exact thing until my wife forwarded your website to me to check out..and she highlighted that I should “read the blog.” So here I am and wow, how timely. I guess I have some introspective thinking to do about my work and myself and more importantly..believe in ME and my art.
Thanks for the great, timely, “hit-home” article!