A Secret to Freeing Yourself as a Creator

I used to judge other people’s creative expressions.

And I did it quite harshly.

«Who does she think she is? She’s clearly not good enough at this, and still, the audacity to show her “art” to the world!» — I used to think to myself or to say out loud to those who were as much eager to fall into the welcoming arms of bitter frustration and subtle jealousy from someone else’s creative freedom.

I used to think that there’s a certain bottom line that creative people have to hit to be good enough, and a certain step to pass to become worthy enough to share their art with the world.

I let perfectionism get the best of me and mess with my consciousness. But in reality, not allowing myself to let go of the imprinted black and white perception of whatever I did and achieved has made me very unhappy and sensitive to other people freely expressing themselves and proudly showcasing their creations, without overthinking and looking for public acceptance.

The past four months I’ve spent in one of the most beautiful cities in the world — Florence. A hub for creators all over the world. A multinational cradle of limitless self-expression and exploration. It wasn’t my first experience abroad — far from it. But something inside me transformed substantially during these months.

One essential thing that I learned there is this ultimate skill of letting myself go and allowing my creativity to just flow. Create to inspire, to share, to unite, to make others see the way I see, but in no way to compete with fellow creatives, or to prove oneself.

I’ve stopped worrying if what I do is perfect or good enough. Perfection doesn’t exist, so why try so hard to achieve the non-existent unattainable substance?

I started to just share. I don’t mean for my creations — whatever they are — to become universally praised. If even 2–3 people vibe with them and feel how I feel while filming, capturing, or writing, then be it. Job done.

And suddenly I only started seeing the beauty in the abundance of artistic people in the world. There’s no bitterness, no competition, no judgment. Only astonishing infinity of the ways we all see the world around us.

So many exceptionally talented people whose art makes me go “wow” and to whom I just wanna write: you’re amazing, and so is your creativity. Keep doing the thing.