Hidden Beliefs That Impact our Art -EP 255

Do you feel that your art simply isn’t good enough yet? Is it your belief that artists always struggle to make ends meet? Are there skills or techniques that you feel you simply can’t do well? Is it common for you to believe that you don’t have enough time to work on your art?

These are common beliefs that I hear from members of the Savvy Painter Community on a regular basis. In this episode, I want to get out the magnifying glass and take a deeper look at what we believe and to question those beliefs. Why? So we can identify the beliefs we have that are not serving us, holding us back, or limiting our creativity and success. 

Outline of This Episode

• [0:14] A peek into my world here in Argentina
• [0:57] How beliefs impact the way we live and do our art
• [4:10] Beliefs usually come to us from outside influences
• [8:57] We become what we believe — how it works and why it matters
• [11:13] Empowering beliefs shared by Savvy Painter Community members
• [14:51] Beliefs that create results that are not so positive
• [19:00] Limiting beliefs 

The hidden beliefs that are running our lives

Studying and putting into practice daily. It’s like peeling an onion, there’s so much to discover about how we think and how it impacts our lives. In addition to those random thoughts we have, there are “inner scripts” or hidden beliefs that run our lives. We are not always aware they exist and don’t recognize the impact they have on the way we live. Here’s my definition of a belief...

A belief is a thought that you keep thinking over and over again.

This includes our thoughts about who we are as an artist, what people think of artists, what artists are supposed to do, how we are supposed to act, etc. When we decide those thoughts are true we create a belief-system. They are built by habit or we’ve actively chosen to believe it.

 

Where do our beliefs come from?

If you take a moment to think about where beliefs come from, you’ll realize that there is a huge array of influences that feed us things to believe: our families, upbringing, culture, religion, advertising, social media, etc. and even self-created beliefs. Any time we receive these things, think about them, and internalize them, they become our beliefs and we don’t think about them consciously anymore. They just play in the background over and over and over in a constant “belief-loop.” For this reason, beliefs shape the way we experience the world, the way we see ourselves, others, and the world.

Let’s take some examples from the world of art:

There are groups that believe that painting is dead, that everything that can be said using paint on canvas has already been said. There are groups that believe painting is a living, breathing force and there is still much more to be done with it. And even within those systems there are people who believe that abstract expressionism is the only way to authentically express yourself. On a different note, some people believe that you are either born with artistic talent or you aren’t, while others believe the skills to make great art can be learned. Then there are beliefs surrounding money and art that I get into on this episode. These are all examples of “collective beliefs” and they can greatly impact the results that you get in your own studio practice.

Many beliefs you hold are helpful but some are not

The point of this episode is not to encourage you to rip apart every belief you hold. There are many beliefs we have that serve us well. But if you find things that do NOT serve you well, or things that cause you to repeatedly do things in a compulsive manner, or that you do or refrain from doing things because they don’t feel like thi

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