The French artist Henri Matisse is often attributed with saying: “Creativity takes courage”. And it does, not only to create the work you’re called to make, in the most authentic, holistic way possible, but also to put that work out into the world.

It can be daunting to share your creation because then it no longer belongs entirely to you. People judge, ignore, misunderstand, don’t notice, or … love it.

Many of us wait to feel confident before we send out our work, but in my experience you can boost your confidence by finding courage to do the thing that makes you uncomfortable. As creators, a significant part of the job is learning to be seen, often before we feel ready.

As someone who loves archetypes, I’ve found a few that can show up in your energy when you’re thinking about sharing or showing work:

• The Perfectionist – Just one more tweak before they see it. The part of you that believes work must be ‘finished enough’ before it can be shared. This is a respectable way to hide in the disguise of good intentions.
• The Emerging Creator – I’ll let them see it, then keep creating. This part knows you have something to say, but you’re still learning to claim space for it.
• The Brave Beginner – I don’t have to be ready to begin. You’re willing to be visible before you feel ready.
• The Disruptor – Who said I need their approval? The part of you that will not acknowledge the misconception that you need external approval or perfection before you’re ‘allowed’ to put your work into the world.
• The Resistor – I’ll do it… just not yet. The part that finds reasonable reasons to delay sharing your work. There’s always something else to finish, learn or prepare before you can take the next step. Often resistance is fear in disguise.

Do any resonate with you at the stage you’re at now?

Here are four strategies I find helpful:

1. Share before you feel ready: if you wait until you’re 100% happy with everything you make, you may wait forever. There’ll nearly always be a detail you could improve.
2. Separate your work from your worth: someone not liking your story, illustration or photograph isn’t the same as someone not liking you. It can feel personal, but it isn’t a verdict on your value as a person or creator.
3. Don’t try to make everything impressive: not everything has to demonstrate your talent. Sometimes what you share shows how you work, what you’re working on, what you’re thinking about or what made you laugh.
4. Give yourself a smaller audience: you don’t have to leap from hiding your work in a notebook to broadcasting it to the world. Start by sharing it with one person, then a few, then publicly. Confidence can be built in increments.

Photo by Nik on Unsplash