There are many people in the world who can draw, write, cook, act, and all sorts of creative things just as well as any "professional" out there. Yet it is surprising to find how many of these are people think THEY CAN'T do whatever the creative or artistic thing in question is. I consider this attitude to be a crime and also to be natural human nature. I myself harbored and even clung to it for a very long time.

Yes, I, like so many people went about murdering my creative impulses before they ever have the chance to live. If the slightest spark of hope started inside - it had to be snuffed out. Smothered with "I can't" and "I never will" and "I don't have the skill or the talent" and even worse "Look at all the people who can do this better! What is the point of even trying?". Luckily for me I was able to overcome and control this part of myself... and most of the time I can manage not to beat myself up (most of the time - it IS human nature like I said!).

To become a more confident artist (or creative person) ALL you have to do is stop beating yourself up. Start believing that maybe you can, maybe you will, and maybe you do have skill and talent and stamina to do things just "professionals" do. Not beating yourself up isn't all that easy. Why? Well Beating yourself up IS easy because it's a sure and simple thing. You know that you will stay unhappy or insecure or whatever... and while that may not be pleasant you KNOW what that feels like and what to expect - you may even be used to and comfortable with that it. You know exactly what will happen - nothing at all - and that makes you feel SAFE.

Letting what I've nicknamed the "I can" hope live and grow is VERY hard (I, and many others, wrestle with it on a daily basis). Letting that hope exist means you have to look at a scary new world of ideas and chances and challenges. Try it for just a second - think... what if you can? What if I REALLY can. What if I could paint or draw or write or cook amazing things? REALLY - stop right now and try to think about it!

Did you get a scary feeling? The kind of looking over a cliff? Or maybe you didn't even get far enough to have that feeling. Did you immediately feel your mind jump back to a sort of "I can't" safety net? Something inside you say "this is silly, of course I CAN'T do that!". Okay so, my point is, it's not an easy thing to do - on the other hand nothing good is ever easy. What makes you really creative, really talented, is your ability to think I CAN. Your determination to make yourself belive and try.

In her wonderful book "Art and Soul" Pam Grout writes in big bold letters that take up an entire page "Aren't you tired of only doing things you already know how to do?". I try to keep this in mind every day. With the danger and difficultly of "I can" comes a big reward... if it's worth it, then go for it. And trust me, as a person who used to spend a lot of time thinking "I can't" - it IS WORTH IT.

Remember - your life is what YOU choose - you always have some say and control over at least a small part of it. If you choose to never be able to write or draw anything... or to think nothing that you do is any good... then you never will do anything good. It's a CHOICE that you make and that you have to keep making every single day. I didn't wake up a good artist with confidence, I still don't think I'm the best artist that I can be. But I CHOOSE to believe that I will continue to grow as an artist and a person. I choose to belive I CAN. So right now make a choice, do you want to live in a scary world with hope and the idea that maybe you can do new things and amazing things... or do you want to live a safe life of "I can't"? The choice is yours, and it's yours to make over again every second of every day - it's never to late to say "I can!".