Unhelpful expectations (and thoughts) and how they get in the way of our work, progress and creativity
I had a recent brush with some unhelpful expectations that were sucking away all the joy I had for painting and I wanted to bring this up today, because these sneaky thoughts can get in the way of us creating the work we’re inspired to make!
What is an expectation anyway? Let’s start with the definition from the Oxford Dictionary….
“a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.”
"reality had not lived up to expectations"
“a belief that someone will or should achieve something.”
There’s a difference between having belief in our vision, our work, ourselves and what we are working towards and creating...that kind of “expectation” and the unhelpful ones.
The UNHELPFUL ones that are….
Born from feeling like what we’re creating is not enough so we have to do MORE.
From not feeling like what we are creating or a goal we are working towards is not progressing as fast as we want, so we have to RUSH, HUSTLE and WORK WORRY AND WORK AND WORRY some more.
And the ones that stifle our creativity, make us question and doubt ourselves and the ones that take us out of the MOMENT.
Those are unhelpful expectations.
They add unnecessary pressure, doubt and distraction to our brains.
Image description: pink graphic with text hat says “There’s a difference between having belief in our vision, our work, ourselves and what we are working towards and creating...that kind of “expectation” AND the unhelpful ones that add unnecessary pressure, doubt and distraction to our brains.”
This showed up for me recently as I was working on my #the100DayProject. My vision and goal for the project is to uncover my visual art style by painting daily and exploring different abstract art techniques, processes, and a variety of themes/feelings/stories.
Well earlier in April, I started to feel less excited and curious about painting. I started to feel disappointed in what I’d created. I started to tell myself that I wasn’t challenging myself enough or trying different techniques. I started to feel like I wasn’t making good progress.
Those thoughts - the “unhelpful expectations”, began to impact how I felt about my painting, my vision for my work and myself as an artist and my capabilities.
I decided to take a week off painting and during that week I gently explored what was contributing to my “funk”...and bit by bit I started to uncover the unhelpful expectations that had seeped into my mind and that I was placing on my work and process.
When I was able to acknowledge that and sit with how it was making me feel...I was able to see how far off base those unhelpful expectations were from the truth and how they were distracting me from my initial intention and vision for the project.
Looking at my initial intention and vision, I can see I’m honouring it 100% (well technically not if you count the week off, but I’ve kept up with creating the pieces and working towards the 100).
Sometimes those unhelpful expectations can make us think we need to be more ambitious, risky, aggressive in our work and creations….and so on the surface, they can look helpful, like “yeah I want to push myself and grow!”...when really they’re a distraction from our intentions, the present moment, and what we ACTUALLY want to focus on and be creating.
Has this ever happened to you
If you feel like these unhelpful expectations are impacting the way you create and share your work I invite you to sit with and journal on these questions or go for a walk and get curious.
Image description: graphic that is pink and fluorescent yellow with text that says “give this check in process a try if unhelpful expectations are stifling your progress + creativity”
What expectations am I placing on _____ right now?
Pick one area of your creative practice/project - an area that has maybe felt particularly frustrating or draining.
I.e. writing poetry, mapping out my story, completing my photography challenge
Next, explore….do these expectations feel helpful and supportive or not?
What was your initial intention or vision for what you’re working on? And how does it differ from those expectations? Notice how your initial intention/vision feels in your body versus how your expectations feel.
Example. Maybe your initial intention was to brainstorm and write a short story...but you notice you have thoughts like “I should be writing a novel. Anyone can write a short story. Real writers are writing novels.”
That thought (unhelpful expectation) takes you out of the moment, out of celebrating your progress and instead focuses on what you haven’t done/created!
Now...write down the expectations you want to let go of and what you will instead focus on. Your focus will be your intention/vision for what you are creating.
Example) I will let go of the expectation that I should have my art style figured out by now so I can focus on the process of painting and how it makes me feel.
I hope these feel supportive and help you feel more inspired, clear and excited about your work and how you’re making this world a more creative + loving place!